H:TEC: Difficulties of Life
by chahoppy
Summary: The following story is compiled of threads from my Harry Potter RPG board, Hogwarts: The Enchanted Curse. Each of the following Chapters form one thread that I and another person had typed out. I only own Sarreaha Ailk.
1. Introduction & Profiles

**Sarreaha Ailk and Devon Nutosk**

The following story is compiled of threads from my Harry Potter RPG board, _Hogwarts: The Enchanted Curse._ Each of the following Chapters form one thread that I and another person had typed out. I only own Sarreaha Ailk. I do not own the Harry Potter universe or Devon Nutosk.

Do not steal anything from this Story! And DO NOT steal these characters!

Note: Since this story is compiled from threads, it is to be assumed and expected that some of the said threads were not completed. Those threads have been posted. Threads that are still in progress will that "Still in Progress" written in the Title of the Chapter in the Chapters drop down menu.

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Sarreaha's Profile General 

**Name:** Sarreaha Aimee Ailk  
**Age / Birthday:** 13 / April 18  
**Blood Type:** Half-Blood  
**Pets:** A small gray owl named Chess. Appearance 

**Eyes:** Almond shape that shallow set in her face. The irises are a medium brown, almost a caramel brown.  
**Hair:** Straight dark brown strands that fall down to her mid-back. Her hair is normally worn down and loose about her face, back, and shoulders.  
**General:** Sarreaha stands at about 5' 1, though her build suggests that in a few years her height will increase. Her skin is a light tan color, although her brown hair and eyes makes her seem browner than she really is. Sarreaha has a thin face with a straight nose. She had lost most of her baby fat already.

Her body is just starting to develop, as if her interest in boys. However, Sarreaha does not wear tight or revealing clothes. She doesn't like the look of that style on other girls and hence she refuses to wear such clothing herself. Her style tends to be more unique, as she will wear dark clothing but there will be at least one item that has a stark contrast to what she is wearing. Her fashion sense could be called lacking. Personality 

**Traits:** Sarreaha is very easy going with most people. She has not fear of talking to people. Although she is in the Hufflepuff house, Sarreaha is not dumb, she is actually highly intelligent, enough for her to have been sorted into Ravenclaw. Her sense of loyalty is strong. If one of her friends is in trouble she will stand by them until the end and try to help them or make the situation better.

Impressions tend to stick with her. If someone is mean to her in the first meeting she tends to show them a weary eye the next few times she meets the person again. Sarreaha is also naive in her outlook of things. She will believe almost anything she is told.

Although Sarreaha seems brave at times and hard to touch emotionally, as in making her cry, she actually cries over the smallest things. Most times, however, she is able to keep her tears at bay and brush the occurrence off easily. At other times however she can't. Sarreaha doesn't really like this fact about herself; she feels almost defenseless when she cries.

Although Sarreaha is friendly she is not a chatterbox. In a group of people, Sarreaha is usually the one who is silent listening to everyone else speak. She likes to get different opinions and point of views. She is fascinated by most people, finding each person's views interesting. Mostly for the fact she compares them to others in her mind, find the differences and the similarities. With this interest, Sarreaha keeps a journal, which she writes most of her musings in. Although that is not the only thing she fills her journal with. She has a vivid imagination, and her journal is often filled with a story or two, depending on if she finished one or started another. Her ability to weave a believable tale is amazing and many people would ask her if what she spoke really happened or not.

She takes delight in telling stories, but she doesn't pushes them upon people. Sarreaha is not one to brag. Only if the people ask her for a story will she actually tell one. Most times she tends to keep to herself and hence her number of friends, at least true friends, is limited. History 

**Place of Birth:** Paris, France  
**Nationality:** French and English.  
**Languages:** French and English.  
**Siblings:** Charlotte 7 and Thomas 9  
**History:** Although Sarreaha was born in France her main home is England. The early part of Sarreaha's childhood she had lived in France with both her parents. However, when her parents divorced when she was three, she went to live in England with her father while her younger siblings lived with her mother in France.

Her mother, a witch, had married her muggle father at a young age, just after she had graduated from school and her father had been over five years her mother's senior. Although the first few years had been well their love for each other had dwindled and the two decided it was best that they divorce. Although, it was decided that Sarreaha would live with her father, she still visited her mother every few months for a little bit. Both parents agreed that their children should know both of their parents.

When Sarreaha and her father returned to England after the divorce, her father found a job at a local paper as a journalist. Her mother continued to work in France as a shop clerk, raising her younger siblings.

Sarreaha grew up in a comfortable home. Her father made enough to support his daughter comfortably. Although there would always be wants in their life neither could complain. When Sarreaha turned eleven she received a letter accepting her into Hogwarts. Her father confused by the letter consulted with her mother and he found out then about his ex-wife being a witch. To say that he was upset by this knowledge would be an understatement, but he was not going to take this chance away from his daughter.

When Sarreaha arrived at Hogwarts she was sorted comfortably into the Hufflepuff house. She soon found most of her classes to her liking. Although she liked Potions and Transfiguration the best of them. Other 

**Quidditch:** Chaser.  
**Wand:** 8 inches white Spruce with Phoenix tears core.  
**Anything Else?** Nada.

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Devon's Profile 

**GENERAL**  
**Name:** Devon Gregory Nutosk  
**Age / Birthday:** 16 / 19th January  
**Blood-Type:** Half-Blood  
**Pets:** None at this time...

**APPEARANCE**  
**Eyes:** His eyes are sort of medium big, dark olive, but most people think that they're dark hazel. They are dark olive in the iris and further out they're black.  
**Hair:** His hair not like his siblings, it is dark brown, and slightly curly. Devon has always wondered why he has brown hair instead of red, which his siblings have.  
**General:** Devon is at average height, but as a male he is taller than most girls his age. Last tme he checked he stood at 5'11" but he has probably grown a lot more during the summer. Devon has a charming smile, although you don't see it very often. He also has very handsome, although he don't consider himself as good looking. After several years of football (soccer) Devon has an athletic body and but still he doesn't look as strong as he is, his structure was simply made for the thin ones.

**APPEARANCE**  
Devon is a guy of few words, so people tend to think of him as shy. But that is not the matter, he is not shy, he just chooses not to speak. He chooses his words carefully and with as few words as possible. He is not a person for small talk. He finds that rather boring. So if you want a full conversation with him, you have to have some patient. Devon is also quite smart, but he hates to study books. He doesn't mind learning, but books have never been his huge obsession. He is a quick thinker and is mostly one step ahead in most situations.

Devon rarely opens up to anyone, not even his family knows everything about him. Like for an example, they don't know that he secretly is fascinated by the Dark Arts. It's like he has layers, once you get under the first one, there are several more waiting. But, if you ever get truly under his skin, which can take forever, he is very loyal, witty and trustworthy. Sometimes Devon feels like an outcast from his family. They all seem so friendly and nice, but he is mysterious and keeps things to himself.

Devon is really hard working, when he sets a goal or a promise to himself or others he IS going to fulfill it. He will always do his best but sometimes that can lead him to be cunning. One time he even stole something to achieve his goal, so he has a mischievous side. And he has never really respected rules, although he follows them.

**HISTORY**  
**Place of Birth:** Derbyshire, England  
**Nationality:** English/ Russian  
**Languages:** English, and some Russian words.  
**Siblings:** Travis Nutosk (13), Rebeckah Nutosk (16)  
**History:** Devon was born into what she would call a middle class Magical/Muggle family. Her mother is a Muggle and her father a Wizard. Vlad Nutosk had originated from Russia, however, he had moved into England permanently, having only been on holiday, after meeting Emily Young Devon's Mother. Settling down in England, Vlad and Emily started a family, having children after five years of marriage. 

The Nutosk family had lived out in the countryside, living a mixture of a Muggle and Magic life style. Upon going into her marriage, Emily knew that Vlad was a Wizard, however it had taken her a few days to get around the idea of it. She adapted well to the world of Magic, however, the same could not really be said for Vlad. Although the man tried, he could not fully understand the Muggle world and way of living. In this way, the two had compromised.

Devon was the second born child of the Nutosk family. Likewise with his sister, Becca, he begun at local muggle school. There he found interest in football (soccer), the only sport (except Quidditch) he ever really liked. In family matters, Devon has always felt sort of like an outcast. Even though he has a somewhat strong bond with his siblings, he still feels a bit out of place. His family doesn't know everything about him, like his interest for Dark Arts.

When his sister Becca attended Hogwarts, Devon was at first a but envious, but then later he felt sort of pushed, like the pressure was on him now. He felt as though it was his duty to enter as well. So when he got accepted into Hogwarts he was very relived. But then again, when he was sorted into Slytherin, he seriously started wondering about his identity even though he's learned how to keep it from his family.

After some time at Hogwarts, he suddenly, in the end of his third year, begun to have some disturbing dreams. It happened the year all the Nutosk children attended Hogwarts. 

**OTHER**  
**Quidditch:** No, he merely watches.  
**Wand:** Maple, 12 1/2", fairy dust core.  
**Anything Else?** He is brilliant in potion making, and a sore loser for History. In life generally, Devon wonders a lot why he so different from the rest of his family. He does not have red hair, he does not like books very much and he is neither oldest or youngest. He feels like an outcast.


	2. Hurt So Good

**Hurt so Good**

**Sarreaha:**

The rain had abated a few days ago, however the streets of London still looked damp and muggy, as if it had just finished raining. However, many attributed this to the fact that there had yet to be a sunny day to dry the water from the shower. No, the sky had continued to be cloudy, however the plus was that it no longer rained.

Despite it not raining many people still carried umbrellas upon their person just in case. Sarreaha was no different; however, she only carried one because Olivia had pressed her to take one.

Olivia.

Sarreaha brooded over this. When she returned home from school she expected everything to be as it usually was. Was it? No. She entered her house to find a strange woman in the kitchen speaking, no laughing with her father. The very man who failed to pick her up at the train station! Sarreaha was usually light hearted and it took quite albiet to ruin her day. However, that morning had not gone well and her father forgetting to pick her up wasn't too unusual. No. The icing on the cake was the strange woman, who her father casually told her was living with them now, and he was dating.

He made no mention of this in any of his letters!! Why hadn't he told her? Sarreaha severly doubt that his job at the newspaper caused him to accidentally forget this information. She wouldn't have made fuss over the news. So why not inform her?

Suffice to say, Sarreaha and Olivia did not get off on the right footing and Sarreaha was now upset with her father. She could not stand it any longer to remain in the house and as soon as the rain was clear she was out and about. The last few days she had left early enough to avoid her father or Olivia. However, this morning the woman had been up and about making breakfast, probably to get on Sarreaha's goodside. As it was, Sarreaha had not eaten anything and had only zipped up her black sweatshirt and left the house, only to be stopped.

Manuovering her way through the streets, the umbrella bumped against her leg. She had tied the string of the contraption to the belt loop on her pants and had promptly forgotten about it. She wasn't rebellious or spiteful enough to throw the umbrella away, no she would carry the thing around. However, she didn't have to use it!

Sarreaha walked along the paved road of Muggle London until she came to the Leaky Cauldron where she promptly walked into the alley way. She watched as a few patrons left the Pub through the back door and opened the archway into Diagon Alley. It saved Sarreaha from having to do so. She followed the two witches and wizard into the Alley before she wandered off. Shoving her hands in the pockets of her sweatshirt, she slowed her step to look at the window displays.

Having little time this morning, Sarreaha's hair was not sporting the beads and strings that had been her trend towards the end of the school year. Instead the brown strands were twirled up in a ponytail with a few strands escaping to lay against her neck and shoulders. However, there was a difference to her hair, a bright green and blue streak was now visable in the strands that would make up her bangs, a few of said strands were resting comfortably against the side of her face. Dangly earrings hung from her ears, the earrings being small hoops with beads on wire hanging from them. As usual, no make-up adorn her face.

Besides the fore-mentioned black zip-up sweatshirt, Sarreaha also wore a black t-shirt with "Careful, I bite" in dark red lettering. A pair of faded blue jeans hugged her hips with tears in the knees and the cuffs being shredded and teared. Her normal bright orange shoes covered her feet. In away, Sarreaha was a specticle but not as severe as some who walked the streets were. However, Sarreaha' attire was what it was because she liked what she wore.

Looking at the store windows, a frown covered her lips. She had little money upon her person, another thing she had forgotten this morning, so she could not really shop but only broswe. Not that she would buy much anyway.

As she stopped infront of a window to look closer at the item in the center, Sarreaha was moved her spot brusquely by another person walking into her. She reached a hand out to keep herself upright, she fingers grasping the brickwork of the store.

**Devon:**

Devon had had enough. He was so sick of pretending, pretending to be just fine, he wasn't. After some excuses about meeting an none-existing friend, that had set his mother on fire with questions of who and where to meet, Devon had managed to escape his own mess and leave for Diagon Alley. Even though he felt as though he had had it with his family, he still felt guilty somehow, like it was all his fault. That is was his fault for being such a silent boy, never talking, that it was his fault for pushing himself further away from his siblings, this it was his fault that he was haunted by dreams.

The streets of Diagon Alley was still damp and as Devon walked in his usual laid-back slow phase, he felt the part of his torn and faded jeans that touched the asphalt, became wet. Devon's hair was as messy as ever, _bed head_ as his sister at times called him, and he was wearing an off-white faded t-shirt with the words "Dream Catcher" printed on in curled, old gothic black letters. Even though he didn't feel cold, no matter how gloomy the weather was, Devon had taken his mother's advice to put on an unzipped casual black jacket. Not one made from demin, but just regular fabric. In his black converse shoes, Devon really had no destination set in his mind.

As he walked, he came to think about that last dream he had. It was one of the most disturbing so far, it didn't make sense, not at all. The act in the dream was crazy and did not seem to follow the plot line of reality. But as always, a masked, dark, hidden woman came and haunted him. Sometimes in the background of his dreams, sometimes it was her he was dreaming of, but always, **always,** was she there. Devon touched his forehead, whenever he though about his dreams they gave him an ungraceful headache.

Wrapped up in his own mind, Devon failed to notice a girl standing right in front of him, and he walked right into her. Devon's eyes snapped open and he grabbed one of the girl's wrists to prevent her from falling, it was as if he had know it was going to happen without realizing it himself. Time seemed to stand still for a second before Devon spoke with his usual dark, mysterious voice, his dark olive eyes that most people took for brown, held the girl's eyes.

"I'm so sorry."

Devon took the girl in, and recalled her face from some of his classes. Devon did know how to recognize a face, although his memory in names was not that clear. He slightly wondered if the girl would recall him, but came to conclusion that since he rarely spoke in class, that she would probably not.

"Are you okay?" Devon added, he suddenly did not want to seem as withdrawn as he always did.

**Sarreaha:**

As Sarreaha had stumbled slightly in the collision she felt fingers slide around her other wrist helping to prevent her from falling as well. It seemed both her attacker, term used loosely, and herself were in like minds about keeping her off the ground. For this she was thankful, she wasn't too keen about having a wet butt, the result if she had fallen on the wet cobble stones of the Alley.

Satisfied that she was still upright and her balance was in place, Sarreaha turned her attention to her companion as he spoke. If his voice invoked anything in Sarreaha it was intrigue. She turned her brown eyes to look at him, her eyes getting caught as his gaze held hers. Her brown eyes took his appearance in in a matter of moments, her memory flashing to find where she recognized him from. The boy wasn't completely correct in his thought that she would not recall him. As she did. However, she could only remember his face and that he went to Hogwarts, at least she thought he did.

She examined his appearance, taking a small interest in his eye color as she could not decide what color they were exactly and eye color was one of many thing she found interesting about a person's appearance, as each person's eye color was different in someway. Belatedly she realized that he had spoken again, asking her if she was alright. A slight blush tinged her cheeks for a moment. She probably appeared as an airhead for the amount of time it was taking her to respond and the fact she was staring at him.

Chastising herself for her thoughts and prolonging her response, Sarreaha finally managed to stammer, "Y-yes, I'm fine." She paused a moment to collect her thoughts. "Thank you," she then said. A confusing statement, considering he had walked into her. So why would she be thanking him. She seemed to realize this as she grimanced. "I mean, for keeping me from sitting on the ground..." she trailed off. She was digging herself a hole with her babbling as that was a babble. Sarreaha rarely babbled. Why was she babbling now? With her free hand, as neither of them realized yet that he had not released her wrist, she brushed her hair behind her ears, a nervous habit.

**Devon:**

She was pretty, it hit Devon. Very pretty. Brown glowing eyes and a small figure. Devon was taller than her, probably because he had grown remarkably much over the summer, making his just a tiny bit lanky, although he did not slouch. But it was her eyes that captivated Devon, as he suddenly took interest in them. They were deep somehow. Devon was not the one to read people like an open book, but he was not blind either. 

Devon saw the girl's cheeks burn slightly and he smirked a bit at the girl's stutter and replies. It may have seemed as a rude gesture, but it was not like that in Devon's mind. He didn't mean anything about it. Slowly, the smirk turned into half a smile as she babbled. She was cute.

"Falling, must have been an awful embarrassing situation. I doubt anyone would have wanted it. I'm glad I helped to prevent it." Devon said.

He did not know where his sudden feeling of speech came from, but he suddenly felt as if speaking to her didn't hurt anyone, not even himself. As Devon rarely ever spoke in conversations, he had over time changed slightly. Both in good ways and bad ways. It seemed that everyone that attended Hogwarts changed slightly over time...

Devon still looked into the girl's brown eyes, he did not realize he was still holding her hand, but suddenly he did. As most guys probably would have pulled away abruptly, he did not, he merely let go of her wrist and let his hand fall to his side.

"I'm Devon Nutosk by the way." Devon said and offered his name. He wondered if she would exchange hers in return, and he found himself hoping that she would.

**Sarreaha:**

Although Sarreaha's mind was pre-occupied with her situation and such, her eyes still worked to allow her to see his responses to her actions and words. If it had been anyone else, they probably would have felt insulted as the boy smirked as she stuttered but Sarreaha knew she wasn't being that ... well for lack of better term, normal in her replies so she did not hold it against him if he found her responses amusing. However, it did nothing to help her outlook on her she was appearing towards him.

If anything, she was sure he'd remember her as the airhead he ran into who babbles. However, when he spoke, Sarreaha relaxed a little bit mentally. She wasn't sure if he was just humoring her or actually symphansized with her but at least he was not teasing her. Wait, why would she think that? Part of her mind remembered something about the boy, however she didn't think it was part of his personality ... house perhaps?

"I'd survive the embarrassment," she then said with a soft smile in response, "it's the wet bottom I'm happy to have avoided." Sarreaha attention was drawn to his hand when he released her wrist. It wasn't a sudden movement, it had a natural movement to it. She probably would not have noticed if she had not felt the release of pressure.

"Sarreaha Ailk," she said in response to his introduction. His name she stored away in her memory. She brushed away the vague recollection; she was somewhat annoyed with herself that she did not recognize him instantly, however she did not dwell on it as she knew she could not know everyone who went to Hogwarts. It was pretty close to impossible.

**Devon:**

Devon's half smile stayed in place as she replied. He didn't know why, but it seemed as though his previous troubles had just disappeared for the current time, and Devon did not mind at all. If anyone could take Devon's mind off his troublesome dreams, they definitely had deserved his attention as well as words. Devon kept his eyes on the girl's eyes, it seemed as if he could not take them away from her golden brown orbs.

_Sarreaha..._

Devon recalled the name as it had been said it class, next time he saw her, he would be sure to remember the name with the face. And at this point, Devon found it hard to imagine to forget a name like that. It seemed that Sarreaha had made quite an impression on Devon, for making him so sure that he would remember her, and it was not in a negative way, someone who could keep Devon's half smile on his face sure stepped right, so to speak.

"Sarreaha...quite unusual." Devon commented. "I like it."

Devon was shocked over his own words. Not only did he proceed on with his strangely found speech, but he was sharing his own opinion on a name, a girl-who-he-had-only-met-'s name. He told her he liked her name. Devon felt incredibly stupid. 

_I like it?_ Devon scolded at himself. Yes he liked the name, didn't mean he had to say it out loud. But, as most Slytherin's, his inner battle was not to be seen as he was as laid-back as ever. The only difference between the other Slytherin's and Devon was that they were hiding behind a mask, Devon was not, he simply kept most of things to himself. It was a habit.

**Sarreaha:**

She smiled slightly when he said he liked her name. However, she believed him when he said so. One could not always tell when someone is telling the truth. Very few people would be honest and say something that would hurt the person. Although Sarreaha's name was unique she hated it at times. Most times when people mispronounced it.

"Thanks ... I believe it's a mixture of French and English ..." she said, her voice holding a French accent telling of part of her orgins. "A play on the English name Sarah ... I don't know how my parents came up with it." Sarreaha wasn't certain if she had babbled again. She thought she did. Afterall, didn't she give more information than she needed to? What was wrong with her?

Despite her own embarrassment, Sarreaha was in a better mood than when she left home. Her thoughts had been moved away from her anger and hurt towards her father and his mistrust towards Olivia. Feelings Sarreaha was not used to feeling, let alone expressing.

Part of Sarreaha realized that Devon was not usually a talker, this may have been what prompted her next question, to save him from continuing the conversation. Howevever, after she spoke she felt her question may dig too deep or at least bring up things one wishes to forget. She knew in her case it was true.

"What brings you to Diagon Alley?"

It was silly question and also a common one, but it was something at least.

**Devon:**

Devon's half smile became a half smile, half smirk as Sarreaha started to babble again. He normally found blabbering quite annoying, seeing at it had little affect on him, but the thought of annoyance didn't even cross his mind as he was standing there with his eyes on hers.

"I could tell." Devon replied about her name being french-ish. He had never really come across someone with that type of name before, and it set an impression. At least it weren't as common as Devon, at least not in his mind.

"What brings you to Diagon Alley?" Sarreaha wondered.

Devon wondered slightly over what to tell her. The hurting truth was silly really and not really appropriate to tell someone you'd first met, Devon though. Saying _I just wanted to get away from home_ wasn't really something you said to anyone, it wasn't common, was it?

"Nothing reasonable really." Devon decided not to lie. What good came from lying anyway? Instead he just didn't go into details. "And you?" Devon asked in return. And once again he was surprised by his own actions, it was as though he was not himself right now. Or perhaps this was a glint of the true Devon that would have talked if given a chance.

**Sarreaha:**

Once more Devon had set her at ease after her babbling mistake but she still felt stupid. However, she pushed it from her mind. It didn't do her any good to dwell on it since she hadn't been able to keep herself from babbling.

When Devon turned the question back on her, Sarreaha felt no qualms about saying her reason. "To get away from home," she said. Thinking over her reasons it seemed so childish the way she was acting but she rarely acted angry and felt she deserved this one time at least. "My father was, for lack of better words, a poo-head and didn't tell me something that affects my life as well as his." She didn't go into details but she gave enough that one could form a decent guess. On the plus she didn't babble and she did not press her troubles on to him. She gave enough information should he be curious but not enough to truly be called pouring her troubles.

She had frowned as she spoke. She had momentairly forgotten those troubles at home. Sarreaha had been wishing lately that the term had already started for school so she could lose herself in the happenings of school. It was so much easier that way. However she knew she couldn't avoid it forever and it would probably be better to get it done and over with.

Probably.

**Devon:**

Devon felt intrigued by Sarreaha as she talked, and he felt very surprised as she laid down her personal life for him. She had just only met him, and still she cold be this honest. Perhaps that was what people did these days, because just how much time had Devon spent round people really? Not much, so what did he know of how to behave and how not to, all he knew was that whenever he talked, he talked about what he felt comfortable about giving away. And giving out details, small or not, about his life, was not something he was comfortable about. Being the closed person he was, getting under his skin was hard enough by itself, and to make him talk...

Devon saw the small frown on Sarreaha's face and wondered if perhaps the whole _get away from home_ deal was more serious than what it seemed. _Looks are deceiving..._ yes, that phrase he'd heard too often. And than phrase went both ways, good and bad. Someone who was nice to everyone, could be a mean bitch on the inside, and someone who didn't really associate with anyone, could be the nicest person if only opening up...

"Sometimes..." Devon begun, he was slightly amazed by himself to keep his normal self on the outside when new feelings he'd never felt before ran inside him. "parents do mistakes that can hurt their childern... and sometimes without realizing it themselves."

Devon was speaking from experience, it wasn't such a big deal like this probably was, but it still hurt. Devon could imagine that whatever Sarreaha was talking about, probably had more effect on her than his past had had on him considering that he was only a child then.

"Although, it still hurts the same." Devon added and looked away from Sarreaha's open eyes. Saying what he had just said required that, because if Sarreaha was good at reading people, she would have seen the anger in his eyes as he said his last sentence, and Devon did not want Sarreaha to see that.

**Sarreaha:**

Although Sarreaha had missed seeing the anger in his eyes she still felt something was amiss. Many people talked as they find, from their own life experiences. Sarreaha knew this; she wouldn't spend the majority of her time observing people without picking this little tidbit up. She observed the side of his face silently, as he had looked away.

A moment passed briefly before she spoke again, "Pain is a big part of life ... and some have more than others." She was not speaking about herself in the latter portion. Despite her parents being divorced and her bopped between France and England and now this Olivia dealings Sarreaha could not say she had a painful life. She didn't have the happy-dappy one that some people could boast of but she had it decent.

"But in time, most of the pain does pass become only a memory," she then said. "If one lets it," she then added with a mild shrug of her shoulders. She knew there were flaws in her outlook but she still thought it.

"But my father knew what he was getting into, he just didn't know how to tell me, or so he said, for the past ... five months or so," she then said, scrunching her nose up briefly before she looked at the store window again. She had changed the subject smoothly back to her own troubles. Not because she wanted to dwell on them but because she felt the turn her comments had been taking would dig too deep into Devon. It was just the vibe she felt. She didn't know if she was correct but Sarreaha acted on her intuition and most times, note not all, she proved to do correct, if not always completely.

If anything, Sarreaha did not want to dig. She didn't want to be told anything unless one wanted to tell her. However, with Devon she didn't know that this was already the case. That he watched his words but then she would not be herself if she did not act on what she knew and felt.

**Devon:**

_"If one lets it..."_ Devon let the words escape his lips in a whisper as he pondered over them. He knew how to let go, he just didn't think it was possible to let go of what was now, at home. Or at least in his life. But he was grateful that Sarreaha had not asked him anything about his actions, because we wouldn't have had an answer.

Devon slightly kept his small gaze on the people walking by, it was as if now, now that he had looked away from her eyes, that he saw his own actions from a new light, what he had said and the fact that he had said anything at all. He glanced at Sarreaha again, hoping to catch her eyes, his own not telling what took him so long to reply.

"So, you're father's a twit then?" Devon half smirked, half smiled in a jokily matter.

Perhaps the way things had turned out were a bit too dark for Devon's liking. He did not mind the dark, but Sarreaha seemed to be such a light person, and bringing her down could do no good. As Devon was comfortable in the dark, he doubted Sarreaha would say the same.

Devon wondered if Sarreaha always was like this, she seemed rather good with people. Once again, Devon knew it was all on himself for not being more social, perhaps it just came more natural to others than people like for an example he. And then it hit Devon, he remembered.

"You're a Hufflepuff, right?"

Devon figured, school should be a safe aria to talk about, school generally held so much, and had little to say of your personal life, that he knew. He being a Slytherin, knew how easily people could change, he bet half the people in his house weren't really the people they were at home. Or maybe it was the other way around, perhaps people truly became themselves by going to Hogwarts...

**Sarreaha:**

Sarreaha blinked when asked if her father was a twit then, she could tell he wasn't being serious and a light smile graced her lips. She was not offended. "Yes, I suppose you could call him one," she said. "Although since I live with him and from his blood, wouldn't that mean I have twit-ish tendencies as well?" She inquired with a slight smile. She knew Devon couldn't give a correct answer to that question. Afterall they had only just met.

As she spoke, she had turned her gaze back on him. It was nicer to speak to an actual person than to a store front window. The person, if one was lucky, may actually reply. Not that she had much practice talking to store front windows...

She arched a brow when he asked for confirmination that she was in Hufflepuff. "Yes, I am," she said slowly. "You're not going to attribute some of the Hufflepuff Stereotypes to me now are you?" she questioned, observing him wearily. Hufflepuff was one of houses that had received the worse of the stereotypes. Being called fluff brains and cowards among other things.

Sarreaha was happy to be in Hufflepuff but it was annoying to have those stereotypes proceed you, you as a person. A person was not their house, they each had their individual personalities. It just happened that one had more that fit with one house than the next.

She did not ask for his house; she had a fair idea which he belonged to. However, it just didn't matter to her. As one could have guessed by her response on stereotypes, Sarreaha didn't buy into the house classification. She waited to know the person before she formed any judgment to pass over them. What right had she to do that, to judge, if she did not even know the person past a passing glance?

**Devon:**

Devon, as well as Sarreaha, hated stereotypes. He didn't really judge people on what house they were in or what they wore or how they acted. Just look at Devon, he was a good example. Although he had some of the "qualities" of his house, he still didn't life by it as some sort of law. He didn't seem cold, perhaps withdrawn, but that had nothing to do with unfriendliness. No, Devon was probably one of the last people on earth to judge anyone that quickly and based on a house.

Devon had just suddenly remembered Sarreaha's face from class, and he could vaguely remember that she had been somehow connected with the Hufflepuff. When he had asked his question, it had been more like a statement that a question.

"No I won't, unless a fluff head is what you prefer." Devon smirked with a small light shrug as he knew how much the Hufflepuff house had been labeled. "Stereotypes are silly really." Devon added.

He watched Sarreaha carefully, he did not want to offend her, not that it had been what he had aimed for. The thought hadn't even crossed his mind.

Sometimes, when it came to houses, Devon wondered what made them all fit in where they were to fit in. Devon knew he weren't brave enough to land in Slytherin, or book smart enough to land in Ravenclaw, and it just didn't fit his personality to be in Hufflepuff...yet, it did not seem as though he fitted Slytherin that much either. But what did it really matter anyway?

The Slytherin half blood, the Slytherin quiet boy who doesn't give a damn about who he talks to, half blood, muggle borns... Devon knew what some of the other Slytherin's said about him. But, being Slytherin gave him one some ups, it seemed that people thought all Slytherin's were unfriendly if disturbed, therefore they left Devon alone, although Devon found that strange when he knew how nasty a Ravenclaw could be if disturbed in their studies.  
That was just another crazy idea invented by the steriotypes...although his house kept him out of trouble, it made it even more difficult for him to actually meet someone. But it didn't seem as Sarreaha had cared whether or not Devon was in Slytherin, and Devon found that strangely reassuring.

**Sarreaha:**

Sarreaha gave a small sigh, "I'd rather be labeled for what I actually am," she said with a slight smile. "And if that happens to be a fluff-head then I guess it can't be helped." Sarreaha did not comment on what she was in reality. As in truth, she did not know. She did not sit down and critique herself as some might do, nor did she listen to the things people called her, if anything. However, Sarreaha was probably just a Hufflepuff. Plain and simple.

She did not draw attention to herself, much and nor did she go out of her way to meet and talk with new people. Sure, she would talk with those who talked with her but past that there was very little interaction. In this way she was a loner, a creature of dark. However, the dark always had so many levels to shift through and each depended on a person's perspective.

She then shrugged her shoulders, "But dwelling on it doesn't do anything," she stated. However, it was hard to to tell if she spoke more to him or herself.

When a drop of rain fell, followed by another and another to form a light sprinkle, Sarreaha merely glanced at the sky in thought. She didn't move to open the umbrella at her side. The contraption was indeed forgotten, although she would not have used if she had remembered it. No, the rain didn't bother her in the least. However, there was little bother to be had by a light sprinkle.

She turned her gaze back to Devon as she said, "Seems the rain had returned home." She did not expect it to be a long duration without rain. It never was when the dark clouds loomed above. However, it was always a question of when it would release and how hard.

But Sarreaha oddly found it a relief. She did know why. If it kept up she would be holed up in the house again, but strangely she was not bothered by this. Maybe because she tasted this freedom, and met and talked with someone new. Maybe. However, she doubt her mind would feel the calm long once she was there.

**Devon:**

Devon only nodded his head at her replies, he liked to listen to people, a quality most people didn't have, let alone boys. But as one must probably discover, Devon wasn't like most boys his age. Most boys his age would probably have left by now or said something incredibly corny. Devon liked to listen to people talk, only sometimes the person he was listening to, had no value of speech.

"I guess not." Devon commented to her odd comment. Devon weren't sure whom she was really referring to, but he decided to comment anyway.

Suddenly he could feel the rain fall and he smiled inwardly. He didn't mind the rain at all. It was as if time stood still where he could only see the eyes of the girl standing in front of him as they were both slowly being soaked.

"Seems the rain has returned home." Sarreaha said and looked at Devon. He caught her eyes as if in a trance. He was fascinated by them, they seemed like they were almost glowing.

"Things always seems to find their way home eventully..." Devon said mysteriously as he held her gaze. He was now being totally soaked, his slightly curly hair was much more noticeable to the fact now that it was wet. It was raining heavier and people by their sides were running, trying to get shelter from the rain. The rain sounded like drums as it hit the ground, and both teens were just standing, or so it seemed.

"We should get inside." Devon whispered barely noticeable, but loud enough for Sarreaha to hear. His wet hair hung in his eyes and droplets of water was running like small rivers on his back. Although what he had said, Devon made no effort in trying to move, it was as if he had grown into the ground. It was like a magic moment where the teens were the only ones not moving.

Strange when that happens. Yet, no matter how strange, those moments seems to be the moments that you'll somehow remember...

**Sarreaha:**

"Ah, but sometimes they return too late," she said in response to his own comment. The way he spoke, mysteriously, did not seem at all to throw Sarreaha. She just moved ahead and didn't dwell too long on _how_ he said something but rather what he said and what it could mean.

She grinned turning her gaze back to the sky, she closed her eyes briefly enjoying the moist, cold droplets falling on her face. After he spoke again, Sarreaha did not respond right away, no she lingered longer with her enjoyment before she looked back to him. She noticed how he had spoken but did not move. The rain by then had started to come down harder.

"You can if you like," she said, "I prefer to stay out here ... the rain does not bother me." She removed her sweatshirt, tying it around her waste. Although, she would now become colder Sarreaha did not mind. She just did not want the sleeves of the sweatshirt to stick to her arms, limiting her mobility. True her shirt could also be assumed to do that but the shirt was not as heavy as the sweatshirt and hence easier to move in it.

"Do you like the rain?" she then asked, looking at him, as he still stood there. Her eyes took in his appearance and she found that she liked the fact that his curls were more accented when wet.

Sarreaha was bustled slightly from her spot when someone with an umbrella rushed by them. She did not fall, luckily, however, her shoulder received the blunt of the bustle as she was pushed out of the way. The person continued on without even one utterance of an apology. Sarreaha merely stuck her tongue out at the back of the person, or rather umbrella, and rubbed her now sore shoulder. Her actions were childish to an extent but in away she was also being mature as she did not insult the person nor try to get even.

She turned her attention back to Devon, who she now standing closer to thanks to the person with the umbrella. The person did serve one good thing, and not the hurting Sarreaha's shoulder part, it reminded her that they were on a busy street. 

"D'you want to go somewhere less busy and crowded?"

**Devon:**

Devon glanced at Sarreaha and nodded his head slightly. He watched as she removed her sweatshirt, he would have done the same if he had had one too. Heavy sticking sweatshirts weren't something he preferred.

"Do you like the rain?" Devon's eyes looked for Sarreaha's as she spoke to him. He saw her glance on his curls and couldn't help but to wonder if he thought they were silly. Rather a silly thought all in one.

"I do not mind it, really." Devon stated. And he didn't. The rain was a relief really. Devon was about to say something else as a person brushed by Sarreaha, hitting her shoulder. Devon's hand shot up naturally and landed on her shoulder, almost as if it was meant to be there, it did not seem like neither Sarreaha nor Devon noticed his actions. For a split of a second, Devon wanted to curse the person. His eyes followed the person's neck until he was gone.

Devon's eyes glanced down at Sarreaha again to find her several inches closer, much closer. It make his heart suddenly skip a beat, especially as he suddenly realized that his hand was left on her shoulder, but even so, he still didn't take it away. He only kept his eyes on her with a almost soft smile.

"Jerk. Are you okay?" he asked mildly. The rain kept puring down harder and faster now, the streets seemed foggy as the rain slightly splashed back up as it hit the ground.

Pondering slightly over her question, Devon decided to take her offer. "Sure, why not, where do you want to go?" Devon asked and naturally let his hand slide from her shoulder and down, as he did so, his hand touched her hand, making his heart skip a beat again. What was this feeling he was having? Devon did not know, or maybe he did... maybe he was just scared because he knew.

**Sarreaha:**

"I'm fine ... nothing more than a bruised shoulder probably," she said lightly. "If I'm lucky maybe the guy will have something bruised as well," she paused to think before she shrugged it off with a "Probably not."

Sarreaha had received the blunt of the impact, so she found it unlikely that the other person would suffer more than a slight throbbing pain that would subside in a matter of moments. Fate always played such cruel jokes. Or then, maybe it was just human nature that made them wish that the other person received just as much, or more, pain than they had caused them. Fate, human nature, they could be considered one in the same depending on the situation.

Sarreaha had paid no visable attention to the fact that his hand had reached out to grab her shoulder in the collision with the umbrella jerk, nor when he removed his hand, it touching hers on the way. Although an open person, Sarreaha thoughts and feelings were not always worn on her sleeves for the public to see.

A grin graced her features when Devon agreed to go somewhere else. "Somewhere less crowded ... the park shouldn't be to crowded I would think. Come." Without much thought, she took hold of his hand as she started towards the small park that made its home in Diagon Alley. Sarreaha did not give thought as to whether he would minded her taking hold of his hand as such. Instead, in the back of her mind, she told herself if he minded he would break free from her grasp. It was not as if she was holding his hand in a tight grip.

The rain still fell in a heavy dosage and yet there were still people running through Diagon Alley, either with umbrellas or their coat collars up. It was to be expect. Businesses still needed to run and lives still needed to be lived. There were very few people who could afford the luxary just to stay home when it started to rain. However, the rain in London had become a way of life.

**Devon:**

Devon nodded slightly as Sarreaha suggested the park. He was about to reply as she took his hand and lead him with her. A image of a man flashed before his eyes by her touch, and it was gone as soon as it had appeared. Devon blinked slightly and realized that the streets were still a bit busy making it somewhat difficult to move if there were to be a gap between their holding hands. Naturally, Devon without realizing it, walked closer to Sarreaha and followed her. He didn't mind her small hand in his slightly bigger hand. Her hands seemed warm, while his hands seemed to be forever cold. Devon shrugged it off and let his thoughts drift somewhere else.

For being a rather shy, withdrawn person, Devon sure found this whole incident weird. Firstly, being social wasn't his thing... secondly, being with a rather pretty girl was not his at all and thirdly, being spontaneous about a situation was so far from his normal self that Devon hadn't even thought it all over.

As they came to the small park, Devon saw that it was still a bit green from the summer, although a bit grey. A small playground was there as well and the whole place smelled like wet forest. It was almost as Sarreaha had said, the place was in fact abandoned. But who wanted to have their children to play in the soaking rain anyway?

Devon glanced at Sarreaha and how her hair seemed to hang so naturally around her face, and how her brown eyes shined. He smiled inwardly. His day had turned from miserably to something unexpected...

**Sarreaha:**

Entering the park, Sarreaha noticed the distinct lack of people. She had not been completely sure that the park would be empty, even in the rain. There were crazy people who went out in the rain. Just look at her; she couldn't say anything about Devon, as it seemed to her that she had almost dragged him along with her. She wasn't sure why she stayed. It could not be comfortable staying out in the rain.

Sarreaha herself was already feeling the cold from being soaked and despite it still being summer, being soaking wet one still got cold pretty quick. It was odd how it worked. However, she did not let it get to her and she just kept moving. It was easier to keep moving than to dwell on the fact of being cold or any other discomfort.

Her brown eyes taking in the park, they rested on the small playground. She gave a grin to Devon before she released his hand and walked over to the swingset before she took a seat on one of the swings. She didn't swing but rather used it as a bench, she arms wrapped partly around the chains of the set to rest on her lap. She rocked lightly back and forth.

"Do you often stay out in the rain? Or is today my lucky day?" she questioned Devon looking at him with a smile. She was content to just sit on the swing. It would have been a rather pretty scene except for the fact that it was pouring rain instead of a bright sunny day that usually came to mind in such situations.

**Devon:**

Devon watched as Sarreaha walked over to a swing as seated herself down. It all seemed as a very pretty scene, even in the rain. As Devon didn't mind the rain, it didn't bother him nor disturb the scene in front of him. Devon saw Sarreaha rocking slightly back and forth, and he walked over to her and seated himself on the swing next to her. He however, did not rock back and forth, he only sat there.

Devon looked up as Sarreaha asked him if he often stayed in the rain. A small smirk spread across his lips. "Today is your lucky day." he said. He didn't say it to be cocky, it was just a joke. Although in Devon's mind it sounded a bit unlike him, or perhaps is WAS him. How could he really know? He rarely spoke with anyone, he didn't even have many aquintanced... so maybe. No, Devon shrugged it off. Why dwell on things instead of just do things naturally.

"What about you? Are you a _rain-person_?" Devon wondered, a hint of his smirk lingering on his lips with a small smile.

**Sarreaha:**

Sarreaha laughed softly as he confirmed that it was her lucky day. "So it is," she said with a smile. She fell silent until he spoke again asking if she was a rain-person. She smiled again. "Sometimes," she said, "it depends on my mood."

She walked backwards, keeping her legs straight as she sat on the seat of the swing. She wrapped her fingers around the chain of the swing as she looked at him. "Why don't you care for rain usually? Or just don't like being out in it?" she asked, continuing on the rain conversation. Sarreaha was usually fascinated by the rain. She didn't always spend time out in it but she loved to sit somewhere dry and warm and just watch the droplets fall.

The rain was rather soothing. Already, even out in it, Sarreaha had calmed down from her aggrivation towards her home troubles. However, if only that could work when she was trapped in the house with said annoyances.

"How do you view?" she then asked, curious. The rain symbolized so many different things to different people. It was always hard to pin point what people thought of anything.

**Devon:**

Devon smiled inwardly at all her questions, he had stayed still, even in her small pause. It seemed that this girl could keep a conversation running forever, and Devon didn't mind at all. He was intrigued by her and her curiosity. For Devon would never had thought that one person could ask him all these questions, that one person would bother to ask him. And if they did, he would surely answer them.

"I don't know why I feel so indifferent about the rain." Devon said after a small pause where he had just looked at her. "I don't really like the feeling of having wet clothes stick to me." he then continued. Perhaps that last statement held more than what he was letting on. He was not used to contact, not with other persons and certainly not clothes. A small smiled lingered on his lips with that thought.

"Yet again, I find some sort of comfort in the rain. I like to watch it." Devon said musing. He rarely mused out loud, but he found that he could in this situation. And he was glad. Perhaps he had found what he had been looking for. A friend? 

"The rain..." Devon stopped. "I have different views on the rain for different situations." He finished with a mysterious smile. "Why do you care so much for the rain anyways? Does it fascinate you?" Devon asked, trying to ease his curiosity as well.

**Sarreaha:**

"Well, it does get very uncomfortable," she said in response to his indifference towards the rain. "I just don't like the cold that follows being soaked," she said with a small grin before he he asked her about the rain.

Turning her face towards the sky, her eyes concentrating on the clouds as she thought how to answer. "Yes, it does fascinate me," she said. That part was easy. "Although, in that case, one could say that water fascinates me as well, considering rain is after all only water..."

"But I don't usually make a habit of sitting out in it. I prefer to watch it from inside cozy sun room..." she then said. It was true, Sarreaha didn't need much to continue a conversation. However, like anyone she has her bad days and can't always keep a conversation going. That was starting to happen as her mind drew a blank. 

Instead of saying anything further, she lifted up her feet, tucking them under her swing a few inches above the ground, as the swing swished forward. As she swung to a halt she replaced her feet upon the muddy ground.

**Devon:**

It seemed for Devon, that he couldn't help but to like Sarreaha's answers. Small talk. A usually avoided small talk, he saw no point of it, but it seemed now that his views were changing. Perhaps small talk was needed for getting to know someone. Devon let a small smile play on his lips as Sarreaha told him that rain was in fact water. She had her quirks. 

"I like to sit in my room in the night and watch and listen to the rain. I guess that's when I don't feel so indifferent about it." Devon let a part of him slip out. Perhaps he should make a go for it. Why could it do him anyways?

Devon watched as Sarreaha seemed to become a bit withdrawn, or perhaps it was just him. Devon wasn't that good at reading people, he was just good at watching them. Sarreaha seemed to be so innocent, it hit Devon. 

"So, you do speak French then?" Devon asked as he recalled her saying something about her name being a mixture. And her accent kind of gave her away too. Even though Devon might be smart kid, he still knew little about holding a conversation. So he stated the obvious and went forward slowly. People might find it funny, but that was just the way he was. Everyone had their quirks and personalities.

**Sarreaha:**

Sarreaha listened to ther ain in the small silence that had selttled over them until Devon spoke again. She looked at him as he asked her a question. She was somewhat surprised when he introduced a new conversation. Despite the facts he did not know him well, she had picked up on the fact that he didn't really seem the conversationalist type. If only for the fact that she had seemed to have been doing most of the talking and he only really speaking when she directed a question towards him or to make a comment.

"Yes, I do ..." she said. "Although, only for when I visit my mother and siblings. They live in France while I live with my father here in London." She shrugged her shoulders lightly. There wasn't really much she could say on the subject. After all, there was really only so much that could be said on any topic really until one started to repeat themselves.

However, Sarreaha didn't realize that she had shared another section of her life with him in her answer. Sometimes she spoke without really thinking of the implications towards herself. She was more atune towards other people other people than herself. However, it was probably just the way she was.

"Do you speak any other languages?" she then decided to ask, if only to keep the conversation flowing. However, she had a feeling she already knew the answer to her question.

**Devon:**

Catching her eyes, Devon found himself feeling rather stupid. Even he, someone without a social life, could see that his sudden change of topic was a bit unusual. Devon tried to shrug it off, but it stayer din the back of his mind with all the other things he had. Like his dreams. Devon half listened to Sarreaha's reply as he also thought of his dreams. He pushed them further back into his mind as he caught the words that came from Sarreaha.

If he had been more aware of the situation, he might have realized that she had given away information about herself, but for now he only took it in and didn't think of it any further than just to accept it. Quite fine actually. Devon glanced down and up again when he heard her return the question, it was rather obvious that it would happen really, so Devon weren't really surprised.

"Not really." Devon said slowly. "But I do know some few Russian words." Devon's said and led his small information to her imagination. She could probably imagine anything. That he had some sort of family there, or that he just wanted to learn the language, it really was all up to Sarreaha. 

Because unlike Sarreaha, Devon did not give up information about himself that easily, and just as Sarreaha, Devon did it without realizing it himself. It was just the way he was. Withdrawn. Loner. Although he was a person like anyone else, he was just used to be in the dark. He wasn't like his family, he was different.

**Sarreaha:**

Sarreaha nodded her head slightly when he answered her question. She then remained silent, just rocking gently on the swing. However, her eyes were focused on him, observing him. Contary to belief, Sarreaha could recall seeing him around the school, however he did not leave a strong mark in one's mind. Almost as if he was just part of the background.

In a way that disturbed Sarreaha. There had to be a reason for such actions, hadn't there? There was always a reason behind everything a person's does. Whether for something they can't control the simple reason that they liked doing it. Even though Sarreaha could recall Devon, and more now that she thought about him, she did not place the two red-headed Nutosks as being related to him, however she didn't even know who his siblings were so it didn't help any. It was just ... odd.

"Excuse my asking, and you don't have to answer if you feel I have no right," she said, "but why do you always seem ..." she struggled for the word, "sad ... no thats not it," she muttered the last section. "Distant," she finally settled on. She was not satisfied with the word, but she was having troubles coming up with a better one. "Maybe not so much right now, but more so at school..."

Sarreaha knew she could be over stepping bounds with this question, hence why she had made it clear that he didn't have to answer if he felt she had no right to ask it. However, her curiousity was getting the better of her and it didn't help that she had the affinity to want to help people. An annoying affinity at that. It made telling someone no so hard and so guilt ridden in the end.

**Devon:**

It was like a bucket of ice cold water had been pured over his head as Sarreaha asked him about his self... his way of being. Personal stuff. Devon was speechless and slightly surprised. He did however not let his surprised feeling show on his face, a small pause hung over the two. 

No one had ever really asked that question so directly towards him before. Why he was as he was? Withdrawn? Loner? Distant? Oh, how many times the thoughts had swirled around him. Why he was as he was? Why weren't he as his family? What made him different. Perhaps it was because he just inherited something else than looks from his family, or perhaps it wasn't really about looks at all. 

_It's all inside me..._

Devon thought about his fascination to the dark arts, about his haunting dreams, about the way he thought, the way he expressed himself and not expressed himself. Was it all because he was simply afraid of being rejected? No, it couldn't be that. But what was it?

"I..." Devon begun. "I don't know how to answer you." Devon said and looked up into Sarreaha's eyes. He was doing it now, right now in that moment. He backed out? No, he was opening up. "I seriously don't know. It's just grown into me, and I can't express with words why." Devon said honestly. "It's a mystery..."

He felt as though he had said enough. He had let a part of himself go. He had acknowledged the fact that he knew that he was a loner and he had spoke his mind. More than that, he couldn't do, at least not yet.

**Sarreaha:**

As she waited for him to speak, she had watched him noting the subtles changes that had gone on in his appearance her question. She wasn't really sure how he thought of her for asking the question. She did not wish to think that she had gone down in his opinion of her for asking.

"Oh, I see," Sarreaha murmered in response. She didn't say anything further, in ways to get him to say more. She knew this was the best answer she was going to receive out of him. However, she did say, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't of asked; it's none of my business." She felt the need to apologise once more.

After her last words, Sarreaha let silence settle down around them. She didn't feel up to bringing a new subject up at the moment. She wasn't melancholy but rather reflective, not just towards herself but also on the boy next to her.

As she let her mind drift, she pushed the swing forward and backwards, larger than what she had been doing before. She did not swing fully and it was doubtful that she would unless someone were pushed her or something.

**Devon:**

Devon listened to her small talk and apologies, she had nothing to apologize for. After all, she had just been curious, and it had surprised Devon. That anyone could be curious about his withdrawn personality.

"You don't have to apologize." Devon said, barely noticeable. "It's my fault that I am the way I am, so you don't have to apologize for asking." Devon said with a small smile, although he wasn't sure if Sarreaha had seen it. He didn't know what else to say now. He felt empty, although full in a way. He didn't know if he was uncomfortable or content with where he sat. Nevertheless, he stayed put.

a silence built up around them, and Devon found it slightly awkward in a good way. He didn't know if he dared to break it, but he knew he had too soon. He was sure he had to get going, his mother would be freaking out. However, Devon wished to stay just a little longer, and what could it hurt anyway. If he was 5 minutes late or 55?

**Sarreaha:**

At his words, Sarreaha gave Devon a light smile. She still felt the need to apologize and she wasn't going to let his words quell that feeling inside of her. However, she felt better because she had apologized. Either way, it was already out and said. It couldn't be undone.

She turned her face towards the sky, letting the rain drops hit her face as she studied the sky. Although one could not see the sun due to the clouds, the feeling that it was later was still in the air. She wasn't really sure how much time had passed since she had left the house in escape. Either way, she felt better than when she left. Some how, she attributed that to the boy on the swing next to her.

"Thank you," she then said out the blue. She didn't care if Devon knew what she was thanking him for or not. Sarreaha just felt the need to say it and say it she did. Just from this meeting, Sarreaha knew she liked the boy and hoped she would see him more at school. However, she was hesitant to think she would see him any past classes. Slytherins didn't hang out with Hufflepuffs, and loners were called loners for a reason. She didn't like applying stereotypes but sometimes one cannot help the way one thinks. These thoughts just pop up unbidden at times.

**Devon:**

Devon did not know why Sarreaha had said _thank you_ to him, what was there to thank for. Nevertheless, Devon didn't get too caught up in it. She probably had her own reasons for doing so and he didn't mind. He enjoyed her company, even though silence was placed upon them.

Devon smiled to himself as he glanced on the girl on the swing next to him. She was very pretty, he noticed again, but what caught his attention was her eyes. They had this shine over them, and he didn't like the feeling that he had to leave. But he had to. As time had passed more quickly than he had predicted, the hour had passed by and he was to meet up with his family yet again. Devon stood up and walked slowly over to Sarreaha. He stood a bit in front of her, not really knowing what to say until he spoke, "I need to get going now. But I hope I'll meet you again at Hogwarts, perhaps we can go to Hogsmead sometime too, if you'd like."

Devon weren't really sure what he'd proposed himself, what did he offer? Friendship? A date? Just the company? He weren't really too sure about it, all he knew was that he did want to see her again. Devon smiled slightly.

"Bye Sarreaha," he said and begun to walk away slowly, feeling a lot better than he'd felt in weeks.

**Sarreaha:**

Sarreaha listened to the rain, feeling as the droplets hit her skin. However, her thoughts were still contemplating the boy next to her. The silence did not bother her. The silence could be a person's best friend at times. However, some people found the silence disconcerting. Many would probably find the one between her and Devon that right now. However, Sarreaha didn't.

She blinked when she heard his swing move and then how he was standing before her. She observed him as he stood there, but she didn't say anything. Instead, Sarreaha waited for Devon to find his words. At least she assumed he wanted to say something. However, she had a feeling what it was he was going to say.

And she was right by the first phrase he said. However, what he said next gave her some surprised. How she quickly smiled at him when she replied, "I'd like that... See you later, Devon," she said. She did not say bye, that seemed to final. She wasn't really sure what to think of this meeting or even what to come, but she felt in a better mood.

She watched him walk off and she remained on her swing for a half hour longer before she too left and started the trek home.


	3. Depression and Thrill

**Depression and Thrill**

**Sarreaha:**

_...last month Olivia agreed to marry me. We plan to marry in June ..._

Her brown eyes just couldn't get past that one phrase. The whole letter was filled with non-essentials, the normal things that happened in the paper, around home ... the boring stuff. Yet in the middle of the letter were two little lines hidden away. As if the writer was ashamed to write them. That he wanted to hide them away in the clutter of every day life.

She didn't understand it, but she felt hurt.

The letter clutched in her fingers, her small owl gripping her shoulder, Sarreaha had left the courtyard and traveled across the grounds. She wanted to be a lone, and yet the grounds were too open, too many people traversed them, and the castle was full to the top with people. She needed somewhere where people didn't normally go, at least by choice. Her eyes spied the green houses.

Snow crunching under foot, Sarreaha made her way to the last green house, opening the door she let herself in. A blast of humid air hit her face and Chess had hooted, startled. Her eyes took in the wide variety of plants present. She recognized some but others she didn't. However, she moved towards a section of Flutterby bushes, they would cause her no harm, before she took a seat.

Once more her eyes traveled to the letter, bypassing the pleasantries to those two sentences. She had not thought her father had been serious about the woman, and yet he was. Sarreaha had tried to give Olivia a chance, she had tried to share her father with another woman. But she couldn't. Not because she was selfish and wanted to keep her daddy to herself, no. She didn't like Olivia. The woman quickly wore on Sarreaha's nerves.

_Dad knows I don't like her! Why would he want to marry her?_ she thought bitterly. She felt the sting of tears as they filled her eyes. She wiped them away but they continued to come. _Great, now I'm crying ... it's not that big of a deal ... so why am I crying?_ She was trying to convince herself.

It wasn't working.

Sarreaha knew if she was completely against the idea of this woman in the house that she could go live with her mother. But she loved her dad, thats why she chose to continue to live with him. Surely there wouldn't be that big of a difference?

Her mind was in a whirl ... both in the way her father chose to inform her and the implications that it had in regard to herself. With a sigh, she folded her arms over her knees and laid her head down. She would just allow the tears to come. It was no use trying to stop them.

**Devon:**

Devon stared out the window, staring at nothing. His dark olive eyes was hollow and lifeless. Devon was so sick of it now. It had almost been going on for over a year now. The sleepless nights. The images of other people's lives. The images that would never leave his mind. The dark lady he'd seen oh so many times. And the overwhelming power that filled him, sickening him.

Just there and then, Devon couldn't take it anymore. He felt like he could see everything. As he was sitting in the library, he could see that someone was thinking of their boyfriend, others were hating their life and someone was even thinking of themselves in a very high standard. He could see, or _feel_, everything. All he wanted to do was to yell out and scream, telling them to shut up. Instead, Devon stood up and left. Why on earth did he believe that he could concentrate in a room like the library?

Devon sighed to himself as he walked slowly, as always, nothing seemed put of place with him any more. He was as tired as always and as laid-back as always. Nothing glancing behind his dark face and silent appearance.

Things seemed to really bug Devon lately, however, things were actually going better, no matter how dark it may seem. Now that Devon actually had an idea of what his _illness_ was, he had started studying this phenomena to try and help himself. As he had no one to turn to, he had to take action in is own hands. And he had found something that might even work. The problem was, how to get it? And was he man enough to do it?

Devon found himself walking towards the green houses, even though he was only dressed in a simple pair of worn jeans and a thin dark green sweatshirt. It was freezing and the green houses seemed comfortable. He bet there weren't many people there. Entering one of the green houses Devon was overwhelmed by a wall of feelings. 

Sadness, depression, loneliness.

He couldn't make them all out, and didn't want to either. However, Devon couldn't just stand there, so he closed the door and started feeling his way forth to where these feelings were coming from. As he waked over by the Flutterby bushes, Devon saw that it was Sarreaha sitting there. A wave of his own feelings rushed to him as he saw that she was crying. 

Devon used every fiber of his willpower to push all her thoughts and feelings away, he didn't want to know what she felt if she didn't tell him. Somehow, in a way Devon couldn't explain, he managed to block out all her feelings and thoughts, and for a brief moment, it seemed that he was back to normal. Devon blinked before stepping forth.

"Hi." Devon said walking over to Sarreaha. He didn't wait for an invitation as he just sat down next to her.

**Sarreaha:**

It had been too much to hope for. One finds a place to be a lone and some one else comes along and discovers it to. However, when the person interrupting Sarreaha's solitude became known, she found she didn't mind so much. However, if she was in the mood for reflection it would be interesting that each time she met Devon alone, so far, was after she received news about her father's girlfriend.

When he sat down next to her, Sarreaha moved to wipe her tears away. She didn't like people seeing her cry; she felt so defenseless ... especially with the fact she cried so easily. Sarreaha would cry over the silliest and smallest things. She could not explain why she was like that, but she was and Sarreaha disliked it about herself.

_Hi_ he had said simply to her. She smiled weakly at him when she said softly, "Hey." She jumped slightly when her small brown owl jumped off her shoulder and into the air long enough to land on one of the beams near the roof of the greenhouse. "I should have left him outside," she said quietly, looking up at the bird. However, her owl had been the furthest thing from her mind; plus, the creature had stayed on her shoulder the entire time.

She did not realize it right away, but her eyes had continued to water with tears. The owl's flight having taken her mind from it after she had wiped the previous tears away. "You seem to have knack of finding me when my mood is low," she then commented to Devon with another weak smile. "In Diagon Alley and now here..." 

Sarreaha leaned back into the bush, it giving a shutter causing the leaves rub against another emitting a low _cwshh_ noise.

**Devon:**

Devon couldn't keep his eyes of Sarreaha as he watched her. He felt so bad for her, being so sad. He felt the urge to do whatever she wanted for her. Somehow, he disliked to see her so sad, and he wanted to make whatever made her sad disappear.

Devon's eyes traveled to the small brown owl sitting on her shoulder as she replied to him. He had honestly not noticed it. His eyes had been to occupied to take in Sarreaha's eyes. The brown owl jumped and flew up, landing near the roof of the greenhouse. _I should have left him outside._ Devon looked at Sarreaha. He really didn't like to see her so sad, he felt like doing something to cheer her up.

_But what can I do? I'm no good with people..._ Devon thought to himself. Devon looked back at Sarreaha to see her eyes filled with water again. He nearly jumped as she spoke again, ever so softly. _You seem to have knack of finding me when my mood is low. In Diagon Alley and now here..._

Devon weren't really sure what to say, but still, the words were out of his mouth before he had had the chance to think them through. "Perhaps it's because I'm drawn towards you, and whenever you are sad, I come in hopes of making you happy again."

Devon couldn't believe that the words had left his mouth so suddenly, but at the time being, it had sounded so good. Nevertheless, Devon weren't sure what to make of it, perhaps it was not the words Sarreaha had needed to hear at the particular moment. But, the words had been said. All Devon could do, was to wait for his brain to function again, and for his heart to stop beating so fast.

**Sarreaha:**

Part of Sarreaha didn't really expect Devon to reply to what she had said, and part of her did. She really attributed it to the fact, that since school had started she had learned more about Devon. She had not seen him outside their classes and yet the seemed enough to give her an idea what he was like. And her brief meeting in the summer seemed to confirm her thoughts a little bit.

As Sarreaha learned more about Devon, she also found herself listening more to the Rumor Mill of the school. She had heard the things that were said about him. However, she did not believe them. Despite the fact she didn't believe them, she still felt concern for him. Sarreaha could see there was something wrong. Something that Devon was hiding. However, Sarreaha would never push someone to reveal anything to her. Instead, she was just there. Someone to talk to, someone to count on...

So it was a little surprising at the words that had come out his mouth. _Perhaps it's because I'm drawn towards you, and whenever you are sad, I come in hopes of making you happy again._ She had not been expecting them. The words seemed to say so much and yet so little. It gave her some hope but then logic came and squash it away. Could he really mean something by it? Or was he just saying it because she was crying?

Either way, a smile lit Sarreaha's lips at the words. They may not have been the thing she needed to hear but they had done something. Maybe she had cried all her tears, maybe she had come to terms with her situation, maybe his words did have an affect, or maybe it was a little of everything but her tears seemed to quell a little.

Moving on instinct, Sarreaha gave Devon a soft kiss on the cheek. "Thanks," she said softly, as she leaned her head against his shoulder. Despite what Devon may think, Sarreaha didn't think he was that bad with people. She probably would have said as much but it was not forefront in her mind. Instead, her mind was still contemplating the words he had spoken.

**Devon:**

For Devon, time seemed to stand still as he'd spoke the words. It seemed like Sarreaha would never say anything, or do anything, and perhaps she wouldn't. Perhaps this were one of those things he said, which didn't need a reply. However, suddenly time moved again, but Devon was still frozen. He was what happened, in the corner of his eye, but he couldn't help it, nor prevent it. He didn't know, he had never seen. He'd dreamed of it, but he thought it had only been a dream, a real dream.

A kiss.

On the cheek, nevertheless, but a kiss.

Sarreaha leaned on Devon's shoulder, and all he could do was to sit there. His feelings were trembling inside so much that he forgot to register that he'd seen something. He couldn't remember. _Did that just happen?_ Devon couldn't think clearly. Sarreaha's soft lips still lingered on his cheek where she'd left a mark. An invisible mark. 

So, not knowing quite what to do, as she'd left his speechless and stunned, he just sat there and let her lean on him. Perhaps his shoulder was just what she needed right now.

Looking up, deep in thoughts, Devon felt sort of calm. It had been a long time since he'd been so calm. Suddenly, his mind was clear and free from pressure, and thinking was easy. He'd cleared his mind, and it was all thanks to Sarreaha. Now that he sat there, he suddenly knew how to solve his problems.

"Thank you Sarreaha," he whispered barely noticeable. He hadn't even registered that he'd said it.

**Sarreaha:**

Sarreaha had felt a blush flow over her cheeks when she realized that she had done. Had she really just kissed him on the cheek? She didn't even want to contemplate how her thoughts would have gone if she had kissed him on the lips in stead. True, it had felt natural to do the action ... but she felt the embarrassment from it.

What must Devon think? Would he suspect that she liked him? Would he think it was just her way of saying thank you to him. But then she had never done it before. Oh, it was just so confusing. She closed her eyes trying to block it from her mind. But it was just there. It seemed she had found the perfect remedy for casting the melancholy thought of her father's remarriage from mind.

However, Sarreaha wasn't about to go kissing a guy every time she felt glum now. No. She wasn't that type of person. The girl could not even say if she would do it again or not. However, she she had to do the previous minutes over again, she did not think she would change anything. However, the Kiss was not the only thing on her mind. She was now leaning against him, her head on the shoulder.

Had she lost her mind in those minutes? Really! Where did it go? Or rather why was it kicking in _now_ after everything had already been done! Her thoughts and embarrassment was broken off, however, when she heard the soft utterance from Devon, _Thank you Sarreaha._

She opened her eyes and tilted her head slightly so she could get a view of his face. She felt confused. Why was he thanking her? What was he thanking her for. "For what?" she asked him softly. Sarreaha did not think she had helped in any way, as far as she knew he had been the one doing the helping.

**Devon:**

One could compare it with floating on air, this feeling that he had. Devon kept on looking up. His dark olive eyes were as always, but, perhaps, if possible, a little brighter. It was hard to define how he felt. It was all a mix up for shock, calmness and confusion. Shock: because she'd just kissed him. Calmness: because her presence made him a better person. Confusion: because he didn't know where this left him and Sarreaha. 

Did this mean she liked him? No, Devon weren't sure if he were to allow himself to think like that. Someone, even in Sarreaha's presence, that was a question he had to think about on his own.

_For what?_ Devon had almost forgot his comment that had slipped out from his lips. Now that Sarreaha had spoken, he'd come back from wherever his mind had floated. He continued to look up, even though he could feel her eyes on him. He half smiled. "For being here," he said simply even though it hadn't been so simple to say.

Devon didn't recognize himself. Where did his ability to speak come from? However, Devon was glad that he did. Perhaps he could silently admit to himself why he said what he said. Could he possibly be interested in her? Yes, he could. That was definitely a possibility. Why else say what he said?

Devon felt like he could be himself around Sarreaha, and that was a good thing. It was sort of an un-touched freedom to speak ones mind. A kind of freedom, Devon usually never allowed himself to have. He was a loner, someone in the shadow. And he liked it there. But sometimes, even the shadow needs light.

**Sarreaha:**

_For being here._ Sarreaha's brows furrowed at his response. She did not understand exactly what he meant. However, that may have been because Sarreaha didn't even know Devon's problems, she only had surface glimpse and even that was not much. How could she understand the deep feelings and thoughts that were with in the boy? Thoughts and feelings that had never been shown on the surface, at least what Sarreaha had ever seen.

Despite not knowing, Sarreaha didn't ask. She never asked. It was probably the best trait about her: she didn't probe. She didn't ask question upon question expecting an answer. Instead, she waited to be told, to be trusted.

Either way, a smile touched her lips. "You're welcome," she stated softly, she may not have understood exactly how she helped him, but she did understand that she had done something. Looking at him, there seemed to be something different, not something she could spot or point out. 

In a few moments, Sarreaha got to her feet. She moved underneath the rafter part that her owl sat on. She reached a hand up to the creature, "Come 'ere, Chess," she said to the bird and yet it stayed where it. "Silly bird, come here so I can let you outside," she told it with a laugh, however the bird ruffled his feathers at her with a hoot. Sarreaha's hand dropped back to her side and she shook her head with a small smile.

Although her mood was considerably lighter, Sarreaha still felt the rock in her heart that her father's letter had placed there. She could not say how she felt or even what she would do with this information. The only thing she knew was that she would take it as it came.


	4. Potions Inquiry I

**Potions Inquiry I**

With Elsa Abbey, Edmund Lucas, Dustin Rodare, and Sarreaha Ailk 

**Elsa:**

Elsa sat in the Library, in the far corner studying up on uses for snails. The library was fairly crowded, but still just as quiet. It seemed half the school was in here today. She slammed the book shut and rose to get another. It seemed that everyone else had taken all the good books. She skimmed the walls for a new one, and found "Potion making and you." It looked rather cheesy, but she picked it up and read a few pages, befpre putting it back, and starting her search up again.

**Eddie:**

It had been a rather long and boring day, one of those days where Eddie had few classes with Dustin, therefore, not being able to prank as much as he wanted. Even so, in their last lesson together, which happened to be the last lesson of the day, Professor Corrago had given them an extremely difficult homework assignment. Knowing that it would actually have to make them work, Edie and Dustin had walked over to the library, among with a lot of other people. It seemed that everyone needed to get done their homework due tomorrow.

Eddie joked and laughed with Dustin, as always, catching a glimpse of familiar faces here and there. A small boy came over and nearly worshiped them for their last prank. Eddie just shrugged and smiled. As their found a table near the entrance of the library, they dropped all their bags and school supplies and went to search for books.

As Eddie walked nearer and nearer towards one of the far corners, he loosened up his shirt and tie. He rolled up his sleeves and his shirt was left un-tucked. Eddie messed up his hair a little as he searched with his eyes, not caring where he left. There's weren't really a lot of people there in the back. Eddie laid little interest in it, all he cared about what to find a good book.

Walking without seeing seemed to backfire on him as he bumped into someone. "I'm so sor-" Eddie stopped looking at the girl in front of him. He resisted the temptation of moping and making puking noises as he saw that it was Elsa. "Sorry," he said shortly, giver her a small nasty look.

**Elsa:**

There. "Medling with potions for dumb students" That should help. As Elsa reached for it, she lost track of what happened. Next thing she knew she was on the ground, starring up at, Eddie! A great smile grew on her face, before she realised she can't smile at him. Her lip curled into a snarl, and she looked him up and down. His shirt was untucked,. He looked like he had just woken up! But she loved it. Secretly fo course.

"Well?" She demanded, rasing both eyebrows. "Are you going to help me up or not? I mean you did completely interrupt my studying and knocked me on the ground. The least you could do was offer." Of course it was hardly enough of a commotion to really knock Elsa over. She was small, but not that small. She just enjoyed the attenition. Especially now that she realised it was Eddie.

**Eddie:**

Eddie raised an eyebrow slightly as he noticed that she was on the floor. He rolled his eyes "Can't you even stand straight?" he muttered under his breath, not caring if she heard him or not. Eddie doubted secretly in his mind that his little bumping into her would make her fall. Nevertheless, there she was, on the floor. He hadn't really bumped into her that hard, just had contact, which was more than enough for Eddie.

_Are you going to help me up or not? I mean you did completely interrupt my studying and knocked me on the ground. The least you could do was offer. _Eddie looked down at her. He resisted the urge to laugh or roll his eyes, instead he leaned against the book-shelves and smirked. His sea green/blue eyes twinkling with mischief as he ruffled his blond hair some more.

"I figured that you'd manage to get up by yourself, I guess I gave you too much credit." Eddie smirked, not moving one inch. He crossed his arms and kept leaning against the book-shelves. He knew they were enchanted to hold any weight from above, the sides and inside them.

**Elsa:**

"Uh." She spat. Elsa stood up, a bit shaken and brushed herself off. _"He didnt even offer! That lousy little... cutie."_ How rude. Of coursse Elsa certainly was capable of doing this on her own, just as she did, but it was very impolite to knock someone over and not ever help them back up. For some reason her continued to look at her as he leaned against the book shelf. What was he waiting for? "WELL?" She demanded. "Ar you going to just stand there?" Without waiting for his response, Elsa pushed him out of the way, even lighter than he had knocked her, and went on her search again.

**Eddie:**

Eddie cared little that he was being rude or mean towards her, she could probably handle it as any other, seeing as she was usually mean towards other all the time. Eddie usually kept his manners and was rather charming and flirtatious around girls, all except Elsa. He just simply couldn't stand her. He wanted to laugh when she gave a annoyed "_uh_". 

Eddie kept looking at her. He enjoyed these moment, when he knew he'd annoyed her to some extend. He liked to just watch, it probably annoyed her even more, especially when she didn't know the purpose of why he was doing as he did.

"Are you going to just stand there?" Elsa asked, something telling Eddie that she was annoyed with his actions. _Score_, he thought to himself. Elsa however, did not wait for his respond and just walked past him, knocking ever so lightly into him. Eddie rolled his eyes and said, "if you're going to knock into someone, at least you should do it properly." Whether or not she had heard him, Eddie didn't know, nor care.

Eddie shrugged inwardly before looking closer at some of the books on the shelves. He found what he was looking for and want back tot he corner where he had Dustin had dropped their stuff. Eddie sat down, waiting for Dustin to come back form wherever he'd been.

**Dustin:**

Dustin had wound smoothly behind the shelves when he saw Elsa, smirking to himself. _Best leave her to Sir Edmund,_ he thought. He took a random book from the shelf he was hiding behind and slowly wheedled his way back to where his friend was (probably) waiting, hoping he'd rid them of the nasty snob by the time he returned.

He came out from hiding just as Elsa stalked past, brushing Eddie as she went by. Dustin sneaked over to their corner behind Eddie and plopped down beside him.

"So... how did that go?" he asked, smiling brightly.

**Sarreaha:**

This was a tad annoying. Well, actually she was annoyed with herself. How could she not remember what a homework assignment was? Sarreaha knew that there was one, however she couldn't say what it was. She hadn't thought she was dazing out, but apparently she had. From now on she was actually going to go to bed early ...

_Right Sarreaha, lets make promises we actually intend to keep!_ she thought sarcastically to herself. _It was an essay on ... something ..._ she then thought. Something she knew she'd need to look up in the library.

"What the bloody hell was it?" she muttered to herself annoyed. She looked at the shelves in front of her one last time before she turned to look around the Library. Maybe there was someone in her year here... they ought to know right? She couldn't have been the only one dazing in and out.

As her eyes scanned the library, she caught sight of her fellow Hufflepuff leaving some shelves ... looking somewhat annoyed. Sarreaha would have preferred to ask someone else but one takes what they can get. Elsa wasn't Sarreaha's favorite person, the girl's personality just grated her nerves, something was it seemed hard to do for Sarreaha and yet this girl had accomplished it. Despite that, the girls got on tolerably well.

"Hey Elsa!" Sarreaha said as she neared the other girl. She wasn't going to yell out in the Library. 

Sarreaha was dressed in muggle attire, having changed out of her uniform after her last class. She was dressed in paint splashed blue jeans, with a light yellow top, her normal bright orange sneakers, and over the top she had thrown on one of her black school robes, the clasps undone. Her brown hair was thrown up in a messy ponytail, with pieces falling and going every which way. In the mass of brown strands there were also visible the normal bits of string and beads that she threaded into the strands. From her ears hung lime green dangling earrings with silver balls strung into the green, a matching necklace adorned her neck.

As she raised her hand in greeting, the five bangles (silver, green, yellow, pink, and orange) around her wrist clanked together. She grimaced at the noise they produced. When she was near enough to the other girl that she would not need to speak overly loud she asked. "Do you recall what the homework was that Professor Corrago assigned in Transfiguration?" She realized she needed to specify which class, since the man was subbing Herbology as well.

**Elsa:**

Sarreaha. Elsa did not know her well, but they shared a house and year. They got on well enough. Her current attire would normally be enough to drive Elsa back to the books, but apparently she did not pay attention in Transfiguration, (Good thing Elsa did, for once.) "The homework, I believe is to research the anatomy of a tortoise, because that's what we're doing next." Which was silly of course. Like all the other classes seemed to be. "Cause we're all going to grow up and turn random things into tortoises for a living." As can be persieved, Elsa does not like Transfiguration. It was complete bollocks in her mind, but the real problem was how bad she was. She did enough to pass, but it certainly wasn't A+ work either.

"How can she stand being seen in that?" In Elsa's eyes, Sarreaha's chopce of clothing for today was rediculous. She was just a snob like that. She hated the orange shoes the most. They were hideous. To her... Then again, anything out of the normal was rediculous to her. She was msot often found in her school robes, because she could always say they were required, and be done with it. Today she sported tight jeans, a polo like shirt, only the girls version, and a long necklace. It was bad enough she had to go to the library, she wasnt going to be seen in something... odd. Apparently Sarreaha didn't share her view on this though, seeing that she seemed to wear whatever with, whatever.

**Sarreaha:**

Sarreaha really had no qualms about appearing in the wackiest outfits. However, one thing could be said about her attire, it always had some eye appeal to it. Her outfit choices did not often make the eyes water or the like. However, it was her taste and within her price range. Sarreaha often shopped at thrift stores and the like. Her father did not make much working for the newspaper and she rarely stayed with her mother.

"That sounds about right," Sarreaha then said with a smile. "I don't usually daze out in Transfiguration," she shook her head at herself. Transfiguration was one of the classes she liked and was good at. Hence why she was annoyed with herself for not paying attention.

"Well tortoises are very popular in demand," she said with a small official nod of her head. "Besides, we're just practicing turning things into animals ... not necessarily a tortoise, thats just to give us the idea..." Her defending the subject was proof that she liked it.

"Thanks Elsa," she then said before she turned to find some books. She would leave the girl now. Sarreaha was aware her form of outfits irked the other girl. She wasn't about to change her appearance to appease her fellow Hufflepuff but she would remove herself from the girl's presence.

**Eddie:**

Eddie rolled his eyes as Dustin came strolling over. He laid the book that he'd been reading on the table and continued to smirk at Dustin.

"It went as well as I could expect with that snobby Hufflepuff." Eddie said. "She's being the sassy girl that she is." Eddie said rolling his eyes. However, he was soon caught up in something else as he thought of something. A light smirk appeared on his lips as his eyes twinkled with mischief.

"Sooooo, Dustin, my man. I've heard some rumors about you that I don't quite think you've told me yet. Who is this mystery girl you've been seeing?" Eddie asked. The two of them hadn't seen each other for a while, and even though they were boys, pranksters that is, they still talked about everything. They weren't best buddies for nothing.

Eddie too had something to tell, later. He'd too met a girl, and no one knew because she was more of an friend, even though Eddie perhaps wanted it to be something more...

**Dustin:**

Eddie had rolled his eyes -- typically -- when Dustin mentioned the Hufflepuff girl. _Elsa. What kind of name is that anyway?_ But then a smirk appeared on Eddie's lips. Dustin never got nervous around his best friend... there was never any reason for it, they knew without saying that they'd always have each other's backs... but that smirk had spelled doom for many a prank victim, and Dustin knew he hadn't gotten around to telling Eddie his little secret fast enough. His stomach had twisted uncomfortably and sure enough, Eddie dropped it like a bomb.

_"Sooooo, Dustin, my man. I've heard some rumors about you that I don't quite think you've told me yet. Who is this mystery girl you've been seeing?"_

It was true, they hadn't seen much of each other -- Dustin had gone home over the holidays, he wasn't sure what Eddie and Cass had done -- but he hadn't thought a rumor could spread that quickly. And moreover, where would that rumor have started?

"She's not a mystery girl, Ed," he replied, trying to make light of it. Although he wasn't really sure how Eddie would react; neither of them had ever been attached to anyone before. Well, except to each other -- in an extremely different sense, that is.

"You ought to know her," he continued, "as she's in our house. She's a fourth year, and her name's Maia. Anything else?"

What a stupid question. Of course there was more. You could count on that with Eddie, until every last detail was out.

**Elsa:**

Typical. Sarreaha just up and left. Left Elsa all alone. Well, not _all_ alone. Eddie was still there, and he seemed to be ingaged in conversation with another Gryffindor. With a smirk on her face, Elsa casually, (or so she thought) walked over towards them, and into the book isle behind the two. She pretended to be looking for her book still, but was actually listening to everything they said, ever so intently. It was definatly like Elsa to do this. Infact, she's done it many times before, in this very library even.

Dustin? Yeah. That was his name. A secert lover? _"I want to know about Eddie's life! Not his!" _Apparently, Dustin didn't share her enthusiasm. He was dating... Maia? Galvan? Eugh. Of course, Elsa hadn't even talked to Maia once, let alone known her well enough to judge her, but she judged anyways. It wasn't anything in particular, she just seemed to be someone Elsa wouldn't dare be seen with. (Like most people were now a days.) Especially now that she was dating Dustin. Of course she didnt know him either! He's just friends with Eddie. "He must be mad." Elsa thought outloud, immediatly realizing she thought a little too outloud, Eddie and Dustin _definatly_ heard it. "What to do? What to do?" She paniced. Elsa again picked up a book, she didnt even know what it was and pretended to read it, much to her unknowingst, it was quite upside down.

**Eddie:**

"Huuummm..." Eddie mused out loud, still smirking slightly. But then his smirk turned into one of the friendly smiles he wore around Dustin. They were best buddies, nothing could change that. Even though they'd spent some time apart or not gotten to tell each other things yet, didn't mean that Eddie was affected by it in any bad way. Quite the opposite actually, he was more amused than sad for not knowing.

_You ought to know her as she's in our house. She's a fourth year, and her name's Maia._ Eddie nodded his head, smiling. Maia. Well, Eddie weren't the most observance of guys, at least not until he met Sam. Before, he was totally oblivious to girls, he never seemed to get to know anyone who had the slightest little knowledge sticked up in their little brains. Normally he would be surrounded by girls like... like Elsa.

_Anything else?_ Eddie grinned when Dustin spoke. Eddie knew as well as Dustin that they weren't usually used to things like... girls. Even though they had a lot. It wasn't to brag, but it was a fact. It was true that some found them rather attractive. Eddie however, was not a player, Dustin neither, even though Dustin seemed more comfortable around girls than Eddie. 

"Well, as a matter of fact, there is! Listen here, I'm really happy for you, as cliche as it might sound. But come on! Give me some details here! I spent the entire Christmas with my brother, at least give me some details on your love life," Eddie said and hit Dustin playfully in the shoulder, his friendly way. It was the way Eddie could show Dustin that he was totally cool with it, the whole dating thing.

Just then, Eddie heard something behind him, and he was sure Dustin had heard it too. _"He must be mad."_ Eddie looked at Dustin with his infamous smirk, the kind of smirk he really used when a really good prank as coming. It had been no doubt, neither for Dustin or Eddie, they both knew it was Elsa.

Eddie turned around be peeked in-between the book shelves. There Elsa stood, pretending to read a book, as it was upside down. Eddie turned to Dustin and smirked. "Watch this, I hope this will teach her not to listen to private conversations." 

Eddie took out his wand without being seen. From doing hundreds of pranks, concealing one's wand was easy. With a small swing of the wand and with a barely noticable incantation, Eddie transformed the book in Elsa's hands into a particularly large and hideous, deep redish-orange toad, with huge yellow zits on. The wand was gone as quick as it had appeared. All Eddie was waiting for now, was Elsa's scream.

**Dustin:**

_"Well, as a matter of fact, there is! Listen here, I'm really happy for you, as cliche as it might sound. But come on! Give me some details here! I spent the entire Christmas with my brother, at least give me some details on your love life."_

Dustin laughed. He knew Eddie would probably have rather spent Christmas with him, messing around. "Alright... we went to Hogsmeade the other day. I dunno if it was just me, but it seemed to start out a bit awkwardly then got better -- especially after I gave her the necklace. Did you hear about that bit?"

Before Eddie could respond, someone's voice said behind them quite distinctly _"He must be mad."_ Dustin raised an eyebrow at his friend. Elsa again, who else could it be? He and Eddie glanced behind them at the bookshelves.

_"Watch this, I hope this will teach her not to listen to private conversations."_

Dustin smirked as Eddie slipped out his wand and whispered a spell. Countless times they had done something like this, and had mastered the art of hiding their wands almost as soon as the spell was out of their mouths.

_Eddie transformed the book in Elsa's hands into a particularly large and hideous, deep reddish-orange toad, with huge yellow zits on. The wand was gone as quick as it had appeared._

Dustin turned back around when he saw the toad so as not to arouse suspicion from anyone else, looking at Eddie expectantly and waiting for two things -- Elsa's scream, and for Eddie to answer his question. He kept his face straight and calm, looking for all the world as if the only thing he was doing was talking to a friend.

**Elsa:**

Elsa's face immediatly reddened. _"Did they hear me?"_ She bit her lip and began to panic. But apparently they did. Elsa closed her eyes for a brief 30 seconds and when she opened her eyes she got quite the surprise. A large disgusting from appeared in the plac of her book. She screamed louder than she thought she ever could. "EDDIE! Get over here!"she shouted. I was obvious that the entire library had heard her.

She stomper her way over to Eddie and Dustin, her face red with rage and her hands in fists. Elsa had immediatly dropped the frog, wiping any trace of it off on her clothing. _"I'll have to wash this double." _Ready to deck Eddie right in the face, Elsa held her anger. "What is your problem? Do you have any idea how disgusting that... that _thing_ was? You don't even _know_ what kind of diseases I'm going to get now!" Elsa turned to go wash her hands, but instead, she ended up tripping over the very frog Eddie sent to her earlier. So there Elsa sat with her butt in the air, her face on the floor, and covered in frog.

**Eddie:**

Eddie pretended as if nothing, and just before Elsa let out her high pitched scream, Eddie managed to reply to Dustin. "No, I never got to hear about that..." Eddie couldn't help but to smirk as Elsa's voice was heard.

"_EDDIE! Get over here!_" Elsa's voice rang out, the entire library probably heard her. Eddie had to use every possible willpower not to blow his cover and laugh out loud. She came stomping over to him and Dustin from behind the bookshelves with a bewildered expression. Eddie was sure she wanted to punch him, not that she would've had any chance against him. He was rather tall, and also, a lot stronger. Eddie glanced at Dustin, amusement shone in his eyes.

"What is your problem? Do you have any idea how disgusting that... that thing was? You don't even know what kind of diseases I'm going to get now!" Elsa shrieked. Eddie only looked at her with a dead fish expression, as if saying _what the hell are you talking about_.

"What's up with you Elsa?" Eddie asked before she turned around to probably sob somewhere by herself or go complain to her dolled up friends. However, what did happen was that Elsa fell over the particularly large toad and fell with her butt right up in the air.

At that point, Eddie couldn't help himself, his laughter came trilling out. And who wouldn't have been laughing, whether or not you'd done the previous thing, anyone seeing Elsa trip, all by herself, would have laughed. Eddie was sure of it. Eddie was sure he was going to cry, laughing so hard. He leaned up in the chair and laughed. He had no time to see whether or not Dustin was laughing too, but judging from their relationship and humor, Eddie was sure Dustin was laughing with him.

**Elsa:**

Elsa's scream was even louder than the first. To fall, upon a frog was perhaps the worst thing to her. Frogs were cold and slimey. Not exactly Elsa's idea of a good time. However, touching one twice was even worse, if possible. This time it was also her fault! No one to yell at, but she yelled anyways. Standing and wiping off her freshly cleaned clothes that now reminded her nof nothing but frog, she was madder than ever. In both meanings.

"Why would you ever conjure a FROG of all things?" She spat, "Vile creatures." With a re-growing snarl, she glanced at the frog, and then to Eddie again. Sickening. Yet, beautiful. "Oh Eddie! I don't care about the frog!I love you!" She wanted to yell. Instead something about the frog being vile came out.

"I hate you Edmund Lucas! I hate you!"   
_"Oh, but I love you Eddie..." _

"Why don't you leave Hogwarts and never come back."  
_"No, stay, be with me."_

"No one wants you here."   
_"I _need_ you here."_

Being Elsa was well, hard. She hid her innermost feelings. Every minute of everyday she wanted to scream her love for Eddie, at the top of a mountain. Let everyone know. But she couldn't. He can never know. If he did, Eddie would outright reject Elsa without a second thought, and she knew this. _"Why can't I be kind to him? Why can't I love being around him, enjoy his company?why must I yell at him?" _

**Dustin:**

"_Why would you ever conjure a FROG of all things?" She spat, "Vile creatures."_

Dustin smirked. "Just to spite you, Elsa. Simple as that." _Brat._

"No one wants you here!" she screeched. Dustin had a thing or two to say about that.

"Are you trying to say that I, his best mate, I don't even care about him? Exactly how much do you assume, Elsa?" He couldn't stop a playful grin. "'Cause you know what happens when you assume something, don't you? Or do I have to spell that out for you as well?"

This was precisely why he and Eddie adored picking on the girl. She acted so stuck-up, yet was so juvenile at times that it was almost sickening. Almost. It was great sport.

**Eddie:**

The scream that followed after Elsa tripped, on her own account, was priceless. Eddie was sore in his stomach of laughing, so he stopped... with a few hiccups here and there.

_Why would you ever conjure a FROG of all things?_ Elsa was furious, obviously. However, Eddie didn't care one bit, at all.

_Just to spite you, Elsa. Simple as that._ Eddie looked at Dustin as he'd spoken, and smirked. He looked at Elsa and added to what Dustin had said. "And besides, who said I was the one conjuring up the frog. You have no proof. It's dangerous to accuse someone of something like that." Eddie grinned mischievously.

_I hate you Edmund Lucas! I hate you! Why don't you leave Hogwarts and never come back! No one wants you here!_ Eddie could help but to keep the smirk from appearing. What she said was old news. She always said things like, I hate you, or something like that. Glaring at him and spitting out words as if venom... and the best part was, it didn't bother him one bit at all. 

_Are you trying to say that I, his best mate, I don't even care about him? Exactly how much do you assume, Elsa? Cause you know what happens when you assume something, don't you? Or do I have to spell that out for you as well?_

Eddie grinned as Dustin spoke. How very very good it was to have his best mate around there. Eddie turned to Dustin. "I don't think she'll be able to process what you just said now. You know how she functions... she doesn't!" Eddie said laughing slightly.

**Sarreaha:**

Sarreaha had only just found the book she needed for Transfiguration when she heard screaming. It stopped for a few moments before it started again, by that time, Sarreaha had arrived at the scene. She had seen the frog's appearance and Elsa's trip and how the two boys were now taunting her fellow Hufflepuff.

"Elsa, are you okay?" she asked the girl as she came up to her. She shot the two boys a look. Like the majority of the school, Sarreaha knew of the feud Elsa had with the Gryffindor boys. "Don't let the three year olds get to you," she then stated looking at the Gryffindors. She knew she was asking to be picked on next, however Sarreaha didn't care. She was the type of person to come to the defense and aide of her fellow housemate, even if she didn't care for the girl that much.

As far as Sarreaha was concerned at the moment, the boys before her were not fifteen but were as she said, three. They certainly acted the age. Such pranks and just edging Elsa on, just shove it back in her face and laugh. If she didn't know any better she would have thought the two boys belonged to the Slytherin house.

**Elsa:**

At least someone around here knew how to deal with Elsa. Even thought she didn't like Sarreaha all that much, she served her purpose today. This was now working to Elsa's advandtage. Now she had someone to play puppet with, and it was just one more person on her side. She would of course rather be on Eddie's side, but that was currently unattainable.

Elsa brushed herself off and stood up up straighter. "Example A" She said with a raised eyebrow, the shot them both a disgusted look, and began to walk to a different section of the library. "Come on Sarreaha. We have better things to do than to babysit."

**Eddie:**

Just as Eddie and Dustin had spoke their words, a small girl seemed to come out of nowhere. _Elsa,are you okay?_ Eddie gave the girl supporting Elsa a disgusted look. Was she in lead with Elsa? Anyone who were in lead with her, were doomed, at least according to him. They were there to be her humble servants and puppets in her crazy games. 

He'd seen how she twisted people around her fingers like she owned them, and how she manipulated them. Later on, she would dump them when she'd be gone with them. Even though Eddie thought that he couldn't sympathize with people who were so easily used, he still felt somewhat sorry for them.

Eddie looked at the girl darkly as she gave them a look. _Don't let the three year olds get to you,_ she said to Elsa. Obviously, this girl had been brainwashed, and Eddie were close to hexing her for her nerve. Sometimes, it seemed that Eddie was the only one who knew the real and true side of Elsa. Or at least, the side he'd seen so many times. Daily.

_Example A. Come on Sarreaha. We have better things to do than to babysit._ Elsa was such a snob. Eddie rolled her eyes. She'd only been lucky that the this Sarreaha girl had come, and taken the situation away. Had Sarreaha not come, Elsa would probably not have handled the situation as she did.

"Ey you, Sarreaha girl," Eddie called after the two girls who were about to leave. He was leaning against his chair looking at a book in his lap, although he knew the girl could hear him. "I don't care whether or not you're Elsa's puppy, but you've got some nerve coming here and think you know the situation. I'm just telling you, as a friendly advice, and not just because Elsa's a mean snob, you really ought to look twice," Eddie said.

More than that he didn't want to say, he figured that if Sarreaha had at least the smalled amount of brain, she'd sooner or later figure Elsa out. Looking at Dustin, Eddie chocked an eyebrow. "Well, that was fun," he grinned.

**Sarreaha:**

When Elsa said for Sarreaha to come with her, she didn't move. Instead she said, "You go on ... I have other stuff to do." Sarreaha wasn't a follower nor was she a leader. She may have stood up for her fellow Hufflepuff but there was nothing more.

Preparing to head on her way, she stopped at Eddie's words. She glanced at him with a normal expression. She smiled at him. "I'm well aware of Elsa's quirks. She is in my house and year," she stated. "I didn't come to her aide because I'm friends or even like her. I came to her aide because she's in my house, even if she hadn't been in Hufflepuff I probably would have," she stated.

"Just because a person is a snob, jerk, asshole, and various other things, doesn't mean you can't come to their aide in a situation," she continued. "But, you could of handled the situation better. You're right," she then stated with a small nod of her head. "I don't know the situation ... but towards Elsa, you're," she looked at Eddie then glanced for a moment at Dustin, "you're both just mean ... she may be asking for it but it doesn't mean you should do it just to get a cheap laugh... just as mean as the bullies on the playground, especially now that you found your target, you may be older but it's still there just in a different form."

She then shrugged her shoulders. "Call me a sap or whatever ... you can even make me a target. I don't care. I would have done it again," she then stated. She had stuck her nose where it didn't belong, but she had to wonder if they heard someone in their own house screaming, who they knew were not the best person, would they have just stood by and watched? Probably. It was hard to jump up and defend, especially when everyone was against you. But that was what she did.

"Okay, I'm done lecturing ... doubt it even penetrated your skulls to the point you understand, but who cares," she stated a little more upbeat with a smirk before she turned and disappeared within the shelves. If the boys decided to prank her now, she would take it. It would just prove to her that they were no more than children. The school bullies.


	5. Such Beauty to Behold

**Such Beauty to Behold**

**Sarreaha:**

She had not gotten a date; it was oddly disappointing to her. Well, true, Sarreaha had been asked by a couple boys, but she had turned them down. Two she didn't even know and the third she still didn't know and was younger than her. Sarreaha didn't want to go with someone she didn't know. However, due to that she was now going alone. She had bought her dresses, so she wasn't going to duck out now.

For the first day ... how were they to split this up? There were techniquely three days to this ball, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and they had boughten two dresses. So were they to stay up all through one night, sleep in most of the next day and then wear the other one?

It was just all confusing to her.

However, for the first day, she had picked her orange dress see attire thread, page 1. Her hair, she pulled back in a french twist with two curls on each side of her face hanging down. Per-usual, her make-up was done lightly. The odd feeling returned. It felt odd dressing up. When had been the last time she had done that? She couldn't even remember.

Entering through the Courtyard, Sarreaha had arrive about an hour after the Ball was set to start. Her eyes caught sight of various students lingering around the refreshment tables. Some she recognized and some she didn't. With a small sigh, she walked through the Courtyard and onto the actual grounds, she was surprised at the sight that greeted her.

If she had not have known what the grounds had previously looked like, she would not have recognized them now...

**Devon:**

It was amazing what a piece of old Celtic jewelry could do to one's nerves and sights. It had been around two weeks now since Devon had found what he'd been looking for, a way to seal his visions out. His right ear was pierced with an old Celtic stud. It was small, but somewhat noticeable under his mass of messy curls.

But, as Devon walked into the courtyard, he knew the thing worked like a charm. It was one of the best things that had happened to him. Now, he could somehow enjoy the ball without visions under his eyes.

Glancing around, Devon saw people he knew and didn't knew, but one person, standing a few feet away from him, was in his mind. There was no mistake, it had to be her. Sarreaha. He'd been meaning to ask her to the ball, he really did want that, and it was strange to him. He'd felt the urge to ask her, but every time he got a bit closer to her, the kiss she'd given him came back to his mind. So, he hadn't seen her since she'd kissed him.

And now, there she was, standing with her back towards him. She was beautiful. A orange dress and her hair put up. Devon was bitter. She'd dressed up so nicely, she probably already had a date. Somehow, he was a bit sad over that.

However, he suddenly found himself walking towards her. He didn't pay attention to the surroundings around him, all he saw, was her. Coming up behind her, took a hold of both her shoulders, without really knowing why. He held her, so that she wouldn't be able to turn around to see him, because he knew he couldn't say what he was about to say with her eyes staring into his.

"I know I should have asked you a long time ago, when we first knew about the ball, but I chickened out every time I saw you. I couldn't help it. Still, I'm sorry I didn't. I regret for not asking you to the ball, Sarreaha. I hope you have a nice time with your date," Devon said. He didn't sound angry or bitter for thinking that she'd already gotten a date. He just sounded... honest and sincere.

With that, Devon let go of her and turned around and begun walking away. He'd never summon up the courage to look her in the face after what he'd said. He'd been a complete fool. However, he was glad he'd gotten in off his chest.

**Sarreaha:**

Sarreaha had been contemplating what she would do. Should she find some of her friends, would they mind her tagging along with them and their dates? Would she just feel like a third wheel. These thoughts swarming her mind, she found herself feeling depressed and wondering why she even bothered.

Her thoughts thus preoccupied she had given a small jump when she felt a pair of hands rest on her shoulders, keeping her from turning. At the voice, _I know I should have asked you a long time ago, when we first knew about the ball, but I chickened out every time I saw you. I couldn't help it. Still, I'm sorry I didn't. I regret for not asking you to the ball, Sarreaha. I hope you have a nice time with your date. _she felt tingles crawl over her skin. 

She knew who it was right away. As she listened to him speak, Sarreaha could not help her eyes widening in surprise ever so slightly, or the light smile that had touched her lips. However, his last sentence struck her, _I hope you have a nice time with your date._ Her mind question the statement with _What date?_ Deep down she knew she had been hoping he would ask her, and perhaps that was why she had turned down the three who had asked her.

However, she did not contemplate it further when she felt his hands release her shoulders. She spun on her toes quickly, her fingers reaching for his hand in the process, trying to catch him before he left her reach, as she cried, "Devon!"

"I-I don't have a date," she said, feeling silly for the simple fact. Her gaze traveled down to the ground in slight embarrassment.

**Devon:**

Spinning around to walk away, Devon felt a hand search for his own. He felt small fingers grasp around his slightly larger hand and he stopped as he heard her voice. _Devon!_ Her voice had said it quickly as if... no, could it?

_I-I don't have a date._ Devon stared ahead. He still hadn't turned around. _I-I don't have a date_. She didn't? But why? As he'd seen her a couple of minutes ago, he couldn't understand why. She was so kind, her personality demanded attention because she was so kind. And, she was so pretty as well. Devon didn't want to turn around, but he knew he had to.

_Don't have a date._

Suddenly, turning around weren't such a bad idea. So he did, and as doing so, he caught the sight of her stunning caramel brown eyes again. He stood there for a moment, just staring at her. 

"You don't?" Devon found himself saying surprised. He didn't say anything further, cause he was contemplating on what to say. He was quiet and acting as withdrawn as usual. For a second, it seemed that he weren't going to say anything at all, until he spoke, with a small smile gracing his lips for the first time since he met Sarreaha.

"Do you want to go with me then?"

**Sarreaha:**

When he stopped, her fingers released his hand and her hand dropped back to her side. Her finger tips played with the top layer of the skirt of her dress. Her eyes although on the ground, could see his shoes. One thought just popped into her mind.

_Why doesn't he turn around?_ He was just standing there, her eyes traveled up to look at his back. _Why won't he turn around?_ Had she said something she oughtn't? Did it even matter now that she didn't have a date. He had said he wanted to ask her but didn't. Did he still want to? She assumed he did ... why else would he have told her such things? Was it because she was unattainable, or so he thought?

_Why couldn't he just turn around?_ She felt her right hand form a fist, her fingers curling around the sheer fabric on the skirt, in her nervousness.

It happened. He turned around. Sarreaha could of sworn her heart had stopped in that second. Her eyes caught his after he turned around. However, when he remained silent she wasn't so sure that now he was facing her it was any better. Instead, now she was willing him to _say something!_ She felt as if she was on the edge of something, waiting to fall.

However, no matter how long the wait seemed to her, a moment had passed and he spoke. _You don't?_ Sarreaha found herself shaking her head no, the word escaping her lips in a whisper. Then he was silent again. Silence. Usually she did not mind it, but now it seemed as if it took a twisted glee in torturing her. Back in her mind, she knew that this situation couldn't be any easier for Devon. But humans can be selfish beings and think only of themselves in moments of emotional crisis.

_Do you want to go with me then?_ The words just seemed to cut through the air, the world taking on a surreal feel to it, especially when her eyes saw the smile on his lips. She had never seen that smile before ... why had he never smiled like that before? 

It suited him.

And then Sarreaha found she was making him wait now. She didn't know how much time had passed since he uttered that simple question. A moment perhaps. However, Sarreaha did not waste any time. A smile touched her lips, meeting her eyes. "I'd love to, Devon," she said softly, almost shyly.

**Devon:**

_Do you want to go with me then? _His words were still lingering on his lips from where they'd come. And he'd smiled. He'd shown off a side of him that's he couldn't remember even was there. He was still smiling at her, waiting for her reply. He noticed how her finger tips played with the top layer of her dress, how she seemed almost nervous?

He couldn't really tell. How often was he around people anyways, or at least, how often did he speak to them, a girl even. Rarely. However, he he now was, standing there, asking her out. He just couldn't tell by her face what he answer would be, and for once he wished to take of his new earring and see what were to happen.

Even though it seemed forever to wait, it didn't take long, as his small smile was still on his face. All the thoughts he'd thought, had only taken a second to think.

And then, she smiled.

_I'd love to, Devon._

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. She'd accepted! What did he do now? Did he jump around or do something un-characteristic of him? Should he start running, as he was filled with energy? Should he hug her, kiss her? Devon didn't know what else to do that to do no more than to keep his smile.

He felt like he'd won a battle, a battle with himself.

Still smiling, he offered his arm. "Shall we go then?" he asked. He'd changed in a moment, or so it felt on the inside. He'd gotten the courage to ask, and now do what his heart desired.

**Sarreaha:**

Sarreaha had not been expecting any fantastic in Devon's response to her acceptance. She had realized he was mellow, more calm, hiding of his inner feelings. Even know him as she did, and not very well, she could not tell half of what he was thinking. She only ever guessed and hoped she was right. Sometimes even, the Hufflepuff girl would dig up the courage to ask him, much like she had in Diagon Alley. However, her peace of mind was saved by his question, her answer, and his response.

The smile had remained intact. Although probably cruel or mean to think, Sarreaha wondered how long he would smile like that or even if he would again in the future. She could not possibly know.

_Shall we go then?_ Sarreaha gave him a bright smile as she nodded her head, accepting his offered arm, laying her hand in the crook of his elbow, much like she had scene in muggle films.

Sarreaha allowed Devon to direct their path. She didn't know where she wanted to go, she didn't know even where they could go. It mattered not to her if they danced or if they just spent the event in each other's company. However, she couldn't help but ask him, "Were you looking forward to the ball at all?" Devon did not strike her as the type to attend these things. Why had he even come? Sarreaha would probably have gone anyway, date or no, although second guessing her decision in the end just as she had.

**Devon:**

Sarreaha accepted his hand with a smile and they walked. Devon felt sort of weird with the whole situation. He didn't know how to act or respond. These weren't the type of things he did. He just didn't! Even though the true smile he'd kept on his lips were now gone, it weren't completely gone. It was sort of half there. One would say that he was in a rather good mood, and it could be seen.

Devon weren't really sure what to expect now. He'd said what he had to say, and that was that. However, Devon had been sure he'd been going left empty handed, without a second thought. He was sure he was going to leave. Now that she situation had changed, he did not know what would happen. Devon as the type of guy who like to come prepared. Now, he was not. In these kind of situation, one would wish for the gift to see the future. Funny really.

_Were you looking forward to the ball at all?_ Devon caught her words in the wind and looked down at her. "No, not really. I weren't even planning to go. I only came to speak to you," Devon said truthfully.

He weren't even sure why he'd said it. Perhaps he felt like he could open up a little to Sarreaha, to tell her what was on his mind. How often did he ever do that? He never spoke with his siblings about that anymore. They just didn't understand. Perhaps Sarreaha was the type of person he could speak to.

He did sort of, feel glad or relived over telling her things that was on his mind. Usually, he kept all the small and large things to himself. Sometimes contemplating on it for days. Like that kiss... Devon pushed it from his mind and looked at Sarreaha. "I bet you were planning to go anyways," he said with the small half smirk, half smile he usuall gave her.

**Sarreaha:**

_No, not really. I weren't even planning to go. I only came to speak to you._ Sarreaha had not felt any surprise over his words. In truth, he had confirmed what she had thought he'd answer. That he wasn't really the type to attend such events as this. Sarreaha did not contemplate it any further when he soon spoke again.

_I bet you were planning to go anyways._ A smile touched her lips. He could read her just as well. However, was she really that difficult to read. "I had boughten the dresses, I was committed," she stated lightly, "and when I arrived I questioned the sanity of doing so ... with no date and my friends all having dates..."

She trailed off, her eyes catching sight of the silvers balls that were floating above the grounds and over head. She wondered briefly what they were for. However, they were not the reason she had trailed off. She was just felt the weariness of the evening again. The fact of what probably would of happened if Devon had not shown up.

However, she then had to wonder. Was the weekend going to be any better now that she had a date? She could not even begin to foretell of the rest of the evening would go, not even the weekend. Devon had told her he would not have attended, but since he was now going with her, would it be any fun for _him_?


	6. Sweet Whispers

**Sweet Whispers**

**Sarreaha: **

Sarreaha did not usually find herself outside after dark. It wasn't due to any fear or anything of that sort. She wasn't really sure why. Sarreaha had never really thought about it before. The night air was warm and clear. It was over all a nice night. The stars were visible from almost any perspective.

As Sarreaha wandered the grounds, her hands in her hip hugging faded blue jeans' pockets, she let her mind drift. At one point she stopped and turned her face towards the sky looking at the sky.

Her summer had been boring to appoint. The only thing of interest that had happened was her father's marriage to Olivia. She scrunched her nose at the memory. Her Step-mother had not grown on her any more than when she first met the woman. However, now the woman had more authority over her. Mostly in the fact of her clothing style. Olivia had not liked Sarreaha's well-worned and patched up pieces of clothing. Not that Sarreaha had allowed her to throw anything away, but as result she now had some "high fashion" items of clothing in her closet. She hadn't worn them yet.

Her hair was also slightly different, but only in length. When before the strands had reached down to the middle of her back but they reached only an inch past her shoulder now. The strands were also layered much to Sarreaha's annoyance. She was no longer able to tie her hair completely back. Now the forward strands always fell free. However, the change was no unappealing on her.

Thinking back over the summer, Sarreaha was still contemplating whether life with Olivia was something she couldn't handle. She had spoken with her mother. She could go and live with her and still attend Hogwarts. However, she loved her dad too much to just move with her mother. 

Sarreaha shook her head away from these thoughts and turned her face away from the sky. She would not think of it anymore tonight. She was back at Hogwarts and it really had no say in the here and now. She would admit it that she was happy to be back at Hogwarts. She had not seen anyone she knew during the summer. It had been a tad depressing.

As her mind turned over the people she knew in school, her mind couldn't help but turn to Devon. She had watched him a little bit during the feast and she felt confused as to why he was always off by himself ... why when he always seemed better when there were few people around. She would never ask but she could help but be curious.

Halting next to a tree, Sarreaha leaned her back against, the bark scratching her bare arms slightly as she wore only a blue tang top. With the night being warm she had not seen a point to grabbing a sweatshirt.

Sarreaha turned her gaze back towards the sky to observe the stars. She always liked looking at the stars ... they calmed her ... soothed her even.

**Devon:**

There really weren't any surprise that he was out walking at night, what else did one expect for a night walker like himself? It wasn't really that he couldn't sleep or that he had images flash under his eyelids, which he did, but he just couldn't find a way to sleep. Therefore, Devon had decided to take a walk, spite the hour of the day... or night rather.

Devon took in the warm and clear night air, breathed it all into his lungs and slowly let it out. His dark green shoes almost blended in with the grass, as well as his black pants. His bare hands fell loosely to his sides, he was only wearing a faded grey and brown t-shirt. Usually he'd wear a sweater or something too, as he avoided all contact if possible, but now, at night, he didn't really expect to meet anyone.

A calmness had entered him as he'd begun walking. There weren't any people here, no disturbing images every time he closed his eyes. It annoyed Devon a lot that he hadn't gained control over his own visions. It was like a button stationed on "ON" and he just couldn't find the stop button. What annoyed him ever more was the fact that he hadn't told a single soul about what he saw, dreamed and imagined.

However, at times like these, all his troubles were washed away. It was night. A starry night. And he was alone, really alone. Nothing disturbing. 

Still, with his dying wish to be alone, Devon couldn't lie to his own heart. Somewhere in the depths of his soul, he knew he was lonely. He did actually use some effort to stay alone, it weren't anything that came all that natural to him. After all, he'd grown up in a home with two other siblings and a rather huge family.

Devon found himself walking towards a large tree, however, before he got the chance to walk all the way over and seat himself by it, he saw that the seat was already taken. And it didn't take him longer than a second to realize who it was.

Sarreaha.

He hadn't seen her all summer, and they'd barely seen each other at the feast. Devon couldn't help but to feel a small spark lit up inside him as he walked over and sat down next to her, sort of. His back was also leaning against the trunk of the tree, therefore, he weren't seated directly next to her, and he couldn't peer down at her face.

"Hi," he stated in a low voice as his face held close to nothing. His eyes however sparkled as he too gazed up at the stars.

**Sarreaha: **

Sarreaha tore her gaze away from the sky when she heard the soft crunching of feet over the grass. Her gaze rested on the form of a boy; Devon, her mind supplied. A light smile touched her lips. She watched as he took a seat at the base of the tree. Sarreaha was still standing; she had not taken a seat yet.

However, after a few moments she took a seat at the base of the tree as well. She had just seated herself when she heard his greeting. "Hey," she stated in response looking at him before she turned her gaze to the sky again.

Now that he was hear her mind was turning her thoughts towards him again. He was a mystery in itself. He was often alone, quiet when with people, and yet she occasionally saw another side of him. Was she the only one that ever saw that part of him? And what was between them any way? Were they just friends? Kind of a couple? What?

Sarreaha didn't know. Her last relationship had been an odd one ... what with the guy still loving his last Girlfriend and all and then his returning to her ... but then Sarreaha had only been thirteen when it happened ... it had been her first ... her only one. She really had no knowledge in this area.

Staring at the stars, Sarreaha tried to make some sort of sense of the world she lived in. Whenever she thought things were settling down she found herself sent through a loop. It was an odd sensation ... the world was ever changing. Sometimes she wished time would just stop so things would remain the same for a while.

After a while, Sarreaha decided to ask Devon. She did not think he knew where they were at anymore than she did ... perhaps it would be better just to ask and find out? She hoped so.

"Devon," she stated slowly. "What is going on between us?" she then asked, turning her face to look at him. She wasn't sure she had word it well but it seemed the kind of question that one would need to elaborate on anyway.

**Devon:**

Devon kept staring at the stars. His dark olive eyes was even harder to make out the colour of when being so dark. They didn't look brown or green now, they were simply dark. Devon tore his gaze away from the stars and let his shoulders drop a little, along with his back sliding slightly against the trunk of the tree. He was slightly light-headed and relaxed. He always seemed to be able to relax around Sarreaha.

With his hands laying peacefully on his stomach, Devon slumbered with his eyes, enjoying the relaxed feeling. With only one person present, visions weren't any problem, after all, that was what the ear ring was for. Why else would he have bothered to pierce himself... which had been rather painful actually. Devon opened his eyes again, staring at the stars again. He liked to dream away, to pretend that he was normal and that he didn't see the future. That he could bare the feeling of contact with others. That he could smile without needed to concern about tragic moments in a persons life.

_Devon_. Devon blinked at the sound of his name from her lips. However, as he usual did, he continued to stare ahead, however, she'd caught his attention, and one could tell. _What is going on between us?_

A small silence filled the space between them, and for a moment, only the sound of the wind could be heard. Devon kept his face and eyes to himself as eh contemplated what to say as he knew he had to say something. But honestly, he didn't know. There was a difference in what he wished it to be, and what it actually were. He had changed now, he was aware of what he was... and he didn't want to hurt Sarreaha.

Letting a sigh escape his lips, Devon pushed himself up and turning his head to look down at Sarreaha. Why did she have to have this affect on him, he felt as if he could master anything, even his visions. However, that was one illusion he was about to look past.

"I don't know Sarreaha," Devon said. "There is a difference in what I want it to be, and what is possible for me," Devon mumbled, knowing he probably didn't make any sense. Perhaps she hadn't heard him due his mumbling.

Devon wanted to reach out and touch her cheek as he kept being hypnotized by her eyes, but he was afraid that perhaps the stud wouldn't hold back. "What do you feel is going on between us?" he added in a whispered, barely registering that he'd let those words go.


	7. Under the Mistletoe

**Under the Mistletoe**

**Devon:**

It was Christmas, or at least, around Christmas times. The snow was falling in large thick flakes outside the stoned framed windows of Hogwarts castle. Its majestic walls held magic in almost every type of form. Usually around Christmas, the majority of students went home to celebrate this wondrous time of year, however, there was always the small amount of students that weren't exactly thrilled of the thought of going home.

For those kids who chose not to be with their families, the castle was open. The great hall that usually served with four house tables, had been pushed aside for one common table for them all. Devon Nutosk sat with this table, alone. It was around dinner time, yet, he wasn't hungry. The only bright side about being there, was that he was actually there when it was dinner time. Usually, the mass of people in the castle made his head spin so fast that he was sure was going to faint.

Devon stuck a fork in his already half cold dinner. He was supporting his head up with his hand, playing lazily with his food with the other hand. He was dressed in a simple pair of worn jeans and a dark red t-shirt with a dark green, almost black, zip-up hoodie (let un-zipped). Devon laid his fork down and stood up. The great hall seemed so empty with him only present. It was a weird feeling really, being alone in this huge hall. It was almost as if he could hear the chattering of the people who'd been there. Or perhaps he was actually hearing it... or seeing it.

Shaking his head, Devon walked towards the large doors. The sounds of his footsteps echoed in the empty hall. Devon kept his eyes on the floor as he walked. It was something he always did. It made him seem a little less approachable. Just as he was about to walk through the large doors, Devon stopped. There was a person standing in front of him, it had almost been a collision.

Devon looked up at the person. His dark olive eyes were heavy and cold as he gazed on the person blocking his way. Perhaps it was someone he knew?

**Sarreaha:**

It was strange. This year had been the first time that she had remained at the school during the winter break. For the previous four years Sarreaha had always returned home to be with her father, and yet this year she had not. She did not get along with her step mother, Olivia. She could not decide if bearing the woman's presence was worth being with her father. It had taken her so long to decide that the time to leave had come and gone. It was too late to make any decision but to stay.

Sarreaha could not help disliking the woman. She just did and it affected her relationship with her father. It did not help that the woman was a muggle and she did not understand the magical world. She had not even tried to. She had tried to understand Sarreaha but if magic came anywhere within the picture the woman seemed to turn off. How could she live with such a person? Magic was now such a large part of her life. She could not just forget about it or live without it. Her father understood that. Of course he had also married a witch before the divorce.

With the bond with her father turning brittle, Sarreaha found herself having to turn her attention to her mother. And yet, that bond wasn't any better. Sarreaha barely knew her mother past the month she spends there during the summer. She didn't feel like she belonged. Her younger siblings certainly thought she didn't. She was a traitor. Going to live with a muggle father that rarely saw them. Was it any wonder why she felt such an outsider when she went to Paris and stayed with them?

She couldn't help wonder now if there was anywhere she belonged. She no longer felt a part of either of her parents' homes. It seemed that all that was left for her was Hogwarts. It was a strange feeling. How the school had became such a large part of her in leu of what happened within her familial life. And yet, it was still odd ... it was wrong. Things had changed and it seemed as if it had all changed wrong. Sarreaha was changing even. She wasn't out and about as much anymore. The young girl had takened to staying in her dorm or common room more. She did not feel like wandering about and talking to people. More and more she just wanted to be a lone. Her personality was turning strange. Everything about her was turning out wrong and continuing to move in that direction. Was she even the same girl she was last year? It was so difficult to tell.

The soft tread of her worn sneakers had led her up the stairs from her cellar common room. The Hufflepuff was dressed simply in faded blue jeans with holes gracing the knees and a black t-shirt hugged her upper torso but hidden beneath a dark blue sweatshirt with bleach stains, the sleeves pushed up to her elbows. Her long brown hair was left down to fall in a straight line down her back. There were no colorful strings or beads tied within the strands, nor were their any jewelry adorning her person.

Sarreaha allowed her footsteps to lead her towards the Great Hall. She knew she should eat, and yet she didn't really feel like it. Sarreaha had not made it to the large doors when her feet brought her to a stop. Her path was blocked by a person, by Devon. Unconsciously she had taken a small step back at the look in his eye. It was cold. Was his gaze always so cold? Or was she just seeing clearer today or just noticing things. Sarreaha could not say what it was. All she knew was that she had noticed the cold look to his eye. Part of her mind, the part that was probably the nearest to how she had been the last years, told her to smile and yet she could not even raise a corner in a weak effort. What was wrong with her?

**Devon:**

Time stood still for a split of a second and all Devon could do was to stare with a cold, tense look at the person in fort of him. However, it did just happen for a split second before his usually cold and mysterious gaze turned slightly warmer, and his tense expression and body turned softer as he relaxed and loosened up slightly. Devon wanted to smile, but he saw nothing coming from her.

He was suddenly alert. All this time he'd seen Sarreaha, she'd been smiling. Always the cheerful one. Somehow, Devon couldn't help but to wonder if it had been some to his doing. After all, he'd avoided close to any contact with anyone; he'd avoided any contact with her. Perhaps she was upset. Yet again, Devon sure could make out that this wasn't really about him. This was something deeper.

Devon thought back, wondering if he'd remember something. A flicker of something she might've mentioned... or something he'd seen. Devon was guessing on family issues. Perhaps...

Devon wanted so much to reach out and touch her, but just that simply gesture was enough to make his mind run for miles. He was so afraid of what he might see when he touched her, yet, he yearned to. Perhaps it was because it was sort of a forbidden aria. Would he ever be able to touch anyone without seeing anything? Past, present or future? Would he be able to touch Sarreaha without seeing something?

"Hi Sarreaha," Devon said softly. Even though his face was free from all the joys and sorrows he had when he saw her, his voice revealed how relived he was that it had been her. Perhaps she'd notice, perhaps she wouldn't. Devon sure didn't. Being a guy, he easily let small things slip away when being with a girl he sometimes viewed as perhaps just a little bit more than just friends.

"I didn't know you were to stay here too," Devon commented. He wasn't good at small talks, but you couldn't blame the boy for trying. At least he'd been given a small amount of credit for taking up the courage to either start of conversation or make a total joke of himself for trying. Either way, Devon only did it when with Sarreaha.

_You make me want to be a better person_, Devon found himself thinking to Sarreaha, of course, he was too scared to say that out loud. But the fact that he'd been so aware of his own thoughts were almost scary.

**Sarreaha:**

The cold look had disappeared to be replaced by the one she was more familiar with. It was strange how foriegn the cold look that had been on his face had been. She had always only seen the soft look to him but then that was because it had always been directed at her. Was it any wonder then why she would be surprised to see it now? Even though it had been replaced she could still see it. Was that how he seemed towards everyone else?

_Hi Sarreaha._ He mind was brought from her thoughts at his voice. Her mind was trying to be observitive but it was having difficulties. Her mind had felt as if it were in a fog lately. This fog was very annoying, especially when she was attempting to do any homework. She was sure her grades were suffering becase of it. But then, what could one do?

"Hey Devon," she stated, returning the greeting. If only for a moment there was a flicker of a smile, the corner of her lips raising if only slightly before her lips relaxed to the somewhat straight line they had been. She wasn't frowning, she just wasn't smiling. Perhaps with Sarreaha it was a frown since the Hufflepuff was one to wear a smile upon her lips.

_I didn't know you were to stay here too._ Her mind turned over the question. Were it that strange to think she would stay at the school, no ... her mind was turning around the meaning of his words. He had only stated he hadn't known she was staying over the break as well, not that he had expected she wouldn't. Her mind didn't pay attention to the fact that Devon was leading the conversation, something that was strange even between the two of them. Sarreaha had always been the conversationalist, with Devon remaining silent or answering when needed. It was strange how the silence fell in between them when she did not speak. Perhaps that was why Devon had felt the need to ask the question or rather make the observation.

Sarreaha shrugged her shoulders lightly. "I didn't know either, so I guess I am," she stated quietly. Compared to their previous conversations Sarreaha was closed lips. She had never stopped herself from telling him what was bothering her, if anything was. Although each of those times had dealt with her family. It seemed as if her family was her biggest problem of late. Sometimes she wondered if it would be better if she didn't have any ... but what good would it do her? She would just have different problems in her life.

But there was one thing she had agreed on to herself ... it was easier not to think about it at all.

**Devon:**

There was something foreign about Sarreaha as he spoke to her. She seemed so distant, so far away. It was almost frightening. She had this icy edge to her voice, at least in Devon's mind. it was as if she was trying to convince the world that she was happy when she'd in reality given up. 

It had been a flicker of a smile on her lips, or perhaps it had only been a twitch, Devon couldn't be too sure. Not only was he unexperienced with girls, but with people in general. His people skills were horrible. Why hadn't he noted this sudden change in Sarreaha a little sooner. Devon felt somewhat naked or criticized under her ice eyes. Those eyes. Those beautiful hazel eyes. Devon could wander off to forever in those eyes, but right now, he didn't dare look into them for too long. Instead he did as he always did, he glanced from her face to the surroundings of the room, seeming almost distracted. Although, just when one would expect him to not look back, he would glance at them and surprise them with it.

_I didn't know either, so I guess I am._

The ice edge was still there. Devon tried to convince himself that it wasn't directed to him, that perhaps it didn't even exist, for what should he know? Lately the things that had been a dream was the real world, and the real world had been a dream. He lived the lives of others and was losing himself in the births and deaths of all the people on Hogwarts. There was so much to see that he's forgotten how to look for his own dreams.

The short words almost hurt him. This was what he got for letting his guard down. But Devon couldn't get mad at Sarreaha, especially when he knew that this wasn't all about him. Nothing was about him. He'd have to stop being so selfish. Still though... he was a guy... and it hurt.

Devon looked away, he didn't dare look into her eyes in fear of what his own would reveal. "Me neither," Devon replied instead. His soft tone had dropped slightly as he was afraid it would crack if he kept it softer. "I mean, I didn't know I would stay here either," Devon said, for the first time in ever, he'd begun a sentence with something concerning himself. Perhaps he didn't want to lose this... whatever it was. If he didn't say anything, perhaps she'd leave.

A part of him wanted her to leave so that the hurting inside his chest would stop, but another part begged for her to smile to him or acknowledge him like she'd always done. Devon had no idea why he felt like this, but he did. And Devon knew he could never lie to his own heart. He may be able to fool the world, but never himself.

**Sarreaha:**

Sarreaha was unaware of how Devon was viewing her. She could not know her voice sounded as if it were icy instead of the soft tones she was speaking in. It made one wonder if Sarreaha actually spoke with ice in her voice how Devon would respond. No one could really imagine Sarreaha being so cold. It was not the type of person she was. She was not one to yell or get angry at a person. She was usually the friendly girl that got along well with almost everyone. So perhaps with this in mind, Sarreaha did seem cold. She never seemed neutral or down, how could someone know then that this wasn't her being cold? As it was, Sarreaha did not know how she was seeming to other people.

She was lost. It was the best way to put it. There had been so many changes lately in her life that she was lost among them. She didn't know which way to turn any more. Should she step forward, to the right, left, or back? Which way did she dare go? Would she make things worse if she went this way rather than that way? How did one even know which way to go. It was as if her life had become a maze with turns that seemed to lead to all dead ends. Where was the exit? Where was the life line she could grasp firmly between her fingers to lead her to safety?

Even in school Sarreaha had always seemed a lone. She was friendly, yes, but how many people could she call her true friends? People who realized that there was something wrong with the fifteen-year-old. That what was going on with her might not pass if something didn't happen, if someone didn't step in to help? But perhaps it would pass, perhaps she needed only to find a firm footing, something to grasp and tell her there was somewhere she belonged.

_Me neither. I mean, I didn't know I would stay here either. _

"Oh," she murmured. Her mind screamed for her to say something more, and yet nothing was coming. Her brown eyes had noticed how Devon's eyes did not remain on her's, how they would look at various things around her before suddenly returning to her own gaze. She was feeling distance between them and it was growing. Were they losing the brittle foundation they had built since meeting? Would Devon become or was he another part of her life that she didn't fit with?

The silence between them had become awkward, at least in Sarreaha's mind. And yet, she could not bring herself to say something to break it. Nothing seemed right ... no words could express what she wanted to say. She wanted to say something, do something and yet she was frozen. Unable to move forward or to live in the present it seemed like. What type of life was this?

Was it even worth anything ...?

**Devon:**

What was there to say? Devon felt a distance grow between them, a distance that hadn't ever been there before. Or perhaps it had been there all along, he'd just not seen it, ironically... Perhaps the gap between them had always been so big, it had only been filled as Sarreaha spoke. Now that he thought of it, he'd never been talking much. Yes, it was true that he spoke more with her than with the rest of the population on the school all together, but it still wasn't enough.

A silence fell over them. A awkward silence. It had never happened before. True that they had shared a lot of silences, but they'd never been as awkward and unplaced like this before. Devon felt something sting in his heart. So, was this how things were going to be between them? Out of nowhere Devon thought of the first time he'd actually spoken to Sarreaha, in Diagon Alley. It seemed like a faint lost memory now. It was unreachable. Devon remembered how she'd been and how he'd felt. He'd felt like he'd found someone to talk to, to try and be himself with.

Had it all been a trick?

Devon felt something break inside him and a sudden rage entered him. He looked down, feeling more awkward than ever. Had it all been a game? Had she just played him? He couldn't believe himself to wander off to such delusional thoughts. She couldn't have...

_It's not about you, it never were. She has her own life to worry about..._ a voice whispered in his ear. Devon froze in his mind. He became slightly tense. He needed to get out frustration. It was building up inside of him. He needed to empty his mind, and the silence between the two youths was a distraction.

Devon found himself hating the silence, hating the fact that he was so distant, hating himself. His eyes turned slightly dark as he looked up. "Perhaps... I should go," he said. "I'm blocking your way," he added slightly as he stepped to the side, looking down. He was frustrated and angry. He didn't understand. He needed to cool down.

He'd never had to cool down before. What was so different now? What was so different about Sarreaha? It was driving him insane! Was he happy or sad around her? Or both?

**Sarreaha:**

How was it when a person was in doubt they only saw the things that led to the bad. The things that they felt confirmed their fears? Did they become blinded towards seeing anything else? To seeing that their was more to what was going on around them? Devon had fallen into that trap, though Sarreaha could not possibly know that, and now she was falling into it as well.

She saw the darkening of his eyes. The softness was gone. It was gone. The foundation now appeared broken to her. It was gone. Another connection was broken.

_Perhaps... I should go. I'm blocking your way._ Her mind was torn from the depressing thoughts by his voice ... it was cold too. Everything had gone cold. Winter was killer of everything ... was that why it was cold? Because the cold stopped everything, froze it in place, to be never ending ... never moving. Stopped.

"No, nevermind," she stated softly. "I'm not hungry ... don't even know why I'm here," she added almost inaudibly. Now the words had come. The world had sprung to life. Things were moving and yet they weren't. How was such a thing possible? She was seeing it ... feeling it. How did one break away from it.

Sarreaha turned away from Devon and allowed her footsteps to lead her back towards the stairs that lead to the lower levels of the school. She would return to her common room, to her dorm ... or maybe she would just lose herself in the maze of corridors in the dungeons. Did it really matter anymore?

She raised a hand to her face, brushing moisture from her eye. Her hands were cold. She noticed that. Her mind focused on that ... not the tear that had sprung to her eye and she had wiped away. The tear was just another reminder..

**Devon:**

_No, nevermind. I'm not hungry ... don't even know why I'm here. _

Devon felt a sharp pain pierce through his head. This was too much for him. Girls, his delusional mind, depression, overload! He felt trapped in his own mind and thoughts. What was he doing? But it was too late... and it was too much.

Had he truly lost his mind now? Devon wondered and rewinded back to what he'd said and done, how Sarreaha had acted. He shook his head inwardly as he watched Sarreaha go. He turned slightly and walked the opposite way. He let his feet carry him away. 

What was this pain inside of him? It wasn't the same hollow pain he'd felt before, this was something else. This was something that hurt far much more than before. Was it because of that one incident right now? Why had Sarreaha been so... indifferent? Perhaps, she was going through something... the thought struck Devon and he realized how foolish he was, how selfish he was.

_She's better off without me... _he thought to himself as he stopped. All he wanted to do was to turn around, run after Sarreaha and just... hold her. Had he fallen for her? He couldn't have. They were only friends... or... at this point, it seemed as if what had been of their friendship had died, along with that, something inside Devon had died. Perhaps hope had died in him.

He'd been so foolish. He'd honestly thought that there was hope for someone like him. Of course now, he didn't see it. He was blind, yet he thought he saw everything. He was simply... a guy.

Devon begun moving again. He allowed himself to walk through the castle, and if things turned out as usual, he'd wander up to the towers. That was where he felt more at home. Up in the sky, where no one could find him...


	8. The Revelation

**The Revelation **

**Devon:**

It was after Christmas. _Christmas_; the too used holiday that he couldn't care less of right now. It was New Years eve... or at least, soon to be eve. It was right after dinner time. However, no matter how long it had been since Christmas, Devon Nutosk still carried with him a secret gift in his pocket. It was to that special someone. The special someone that he'd screwed up with. If he could, he would've kicked himself a hundred times. There was no headache in the world that could erase the pain that he felt in his heart when he thought about how he'd walked away from the only person on the planet that he truly did care for.

Devon wandered lost and alone in the corridors in the dungeons. He'd just walked out of his common room, not knowing where to go. He'd probably go up to one of the many towers at Hogwarts and just watch the ground, prepare himself for the massive headache that would come along with the students when the holiday ended. Somehow though, Devon doubted he'd be able to concentrate on that. 

Recently, it hadn't been his worries for his dreams or headaches that had occupied his mind, but it was his special someone. Sarreaha. How could he have just walked away from her like that? Pushed her aside as if she was any other worthless person who didn't give a jack about him?

Devon cursed himself as he walked. How could he have been so blind and stupid? He was such a selfish person! All Devon could think of was her sad face. When she had needed someone, he'd just turned the other check. He should go up to her and take his arms around her, but he couldn't summon up enough courage to do it. He wasn't... man enough.

As if dealing with nightmares and troublesome dreams weren't enough, here he walked trying to deal with his people-skills as well... or more or less, his girl-skills. And frankly, they sucked.

The snow was like a while blanket outside. Cold, alone and no trace of human life on it. It felt very much like his lonely heart. It hurt so much and a huge hole was chewing itself deeper and deeper into his soul. If he'd only summon up enough courage to face her again...

Lost in his thoughts, Devon totally lost track of time and space or where he was walking, so as he rounded a corner, he bumped into someone. Who on earth could it be? There weren't that many people at the castle during the holiday. Dragged out of his own isolated world and very surprised by the sudden contact, Devon jumped as images flew before his eyes. It took only a second before he realized who he'd so rudely walked into. Sarreaha.

**Sarreaha:**

Her mind was still such a jumble mess. It had been a mess for most of the year now. The only difference now, Sarreaha was letting the mess affect her, and affect her it did, not that anyone was really seeming to notice. It was kind of sad that. To think the Hufflepuff had not built up any strong ties at the school to the point that people would actually notice something was different about her. However, Sarreaha was unaware of it for the most part.

Besides the fact the girl smiled rarely, she had also noticibly lost weight, in comparison to the previous year, as well as she had little drive to do anything. She really didn't see the point in trying at this stage of things. Sarreaha really didn't see the point.

However, she could not say what drove her to leave her common room to walk around the school again. After that one meeting with Devon she had pretty much cooped herself in her dorm again. True, she had left a couple time, each time hoping she wouldn't face him. After that last meeting, she didn't know if she could bear it. It had just seemed as if everything had gone all wrong ... well things were already wrong but they had gone worse than expected. True, Sarreaha had not known what she had expected. She didn't know what she expected anymore. Perhaps she was blowing things out of proportion ... there are people have such changes in their lives almost every day and they continued on fine. Why couldn't she?

If her life wasn't falling apart already, what made it worse was she was now suffering a cold from her little adventure out in the snow a few days back. It really was not her year. If anything, her cold made her feel even more the need to do nothing, but doing nothing allowed your mind to think. One needed to turn off the mind ... it was the source of all the problems. It was always thinking, always dwelling on things, turning them this way and that. Making things worse than they already were. Just bringing the pain back to the forefront of one's conscious. It needed to be turned off.

Walking through the dungeon corridors, Sarreaha was not paying attention to where she was going. Her gaze was focused on the ground and her hands were in the pockets of her black hoodie. Her mind was not even focused on her surroundings. It was questionable if she even knew where she was, let alone where she walking, at the moment. When she came to an abrupt stop she was confused. Her mind was still fuzzy, taking her a moment to realize she had walked into someone. It took her another short moment to realize who the person had been.

Devon.

Of all the people she had to walk into, it had to be him. Why him? Did the fates like torturing her? Their friendship was already ruined, were they now taunting her with what she couldn't have? At the moment she would have given anything for the ground to just swallow her up. As it was she couldn't bring her feet to move, to flee. Nor would her lips form any words. She felt as if she was frozen in time again, just like last time. Why?

**Devon:**

His heartbeat begun racing faster and faster and it was suddenly as if Devon could see Sarreaha for the first time in a long time. She'd grown thinner and weaker. More down. She was... depressed. Lonely? Devon couldn't quite tell, but the air somehow told him as the awkward silence pressed on. And all Devon could do was to look at her.

Was this his chance?

Devon didn't know what to say, or do. After their last encounter, what could one say? He'd just walked away from her. Would he do that now too? He couldn't... he wouldn't.

"Hi," Devon said slightly. It was almost a whisper, but it was still noticeable in the dark, cold and silent corridors. Devon kept his eyes on her. She looked so down. It couldn't all be his doing.

He'd just not seen her... how ironical.

Devon couldn't let his troubles stand in his way now. He didn't care how much it would hurt, all he wanted, was to make up with Sarreaha again. He couldn't bare this awkward feeling. He wanted to help her, cause there was obviously something going on in her life that he'd missed. He wanted to be her friend... a friend she could always talk to. Devon had never felt so much for a single person before. Not even his family. Or... it was a different kind of caring, something he probably took for granted, but then again, they would always be there. Sarreaha might not.

_I'm sorry..._ the words were on the tip of his tongue, yet he didn't know how to approach her. All he could do was to wait for her response. What would she do? Hit him, yell at him... or perhaps... she simply didn't care anymore...

**Sarreaha:**

Sarreaha wasn't really sure what to do. For the moment it seemed as if neither of them wanted to speak. Sarreaha could not even bring herself to make eye contact with him. She didn't want to see the look his eyes may hold. She didn't want to see a reconfirmation of the fact he didn't care anymore.

Instead, Sarreaha had turned her gaze towards the floor. She felt like an idiot for just standing there. But what could she do, aside from pull her feet from the floor that they were taking root in and walk around him, but that seemed a little too much work for the moment, or rather farthest from her mind. So she remained where she was standing, her eyes concentrating on the floor, her feet and his feet, waiting for the latter to walk away. Hadn't that been what happened the last time? Well, she had walked first but still.

However, instead of walking away his voice reached her ears/ _Hi._ Sarreaha felt confused for a moment. Why was he talking to her? Hadn't he made it sort of clear that he didn't want to be around her last time? True, her fuddle mind was jumping towards so many conclusion and yet it did not stop hope from funneling up. It was possible right? Maybe the last meeting had been a fluke?

Her brown eyes flickered away from the floor to look at his face. "Hi," she echoed softly. She wasn't sure what else to say. Sarreahe didn't know what footing they were one. She just didn't know. It seemed as if neither of them held all the cards in this situation. Neither of them knew what was going to happen, what move to make next. Sarreaha was content though to leave the ball in Devon's court, to allow him to make the moves. It was his game.

**Devon:**

He still felt the words on the tip of his tongue, but the words wouldn't come. And it sure didn't help much with the awkward silence that laid over them like a heavy winter blanket. Winter had never been so cold before. No, really. Devon had been a huge fan of winter, it gave him a reasonable argument to go out from the common room. The Slytherin common room was infamous for being the coldest room in Hogwarts during winter. 

Right now though, the cold walls of his common room was seeming a bit more alluring that standing here with this heavy silence.

_Hi_. Her reply was as weak as his greeting. Was this how their relationship had worked out, a one syllable sentence each time they spoke? Devon didn't understand how they could've floated so far from each other. Devon weren't sure whether or not he was seeing things or if he was just thinking back... hos they'd met, and the kiss in the green house, and the spring... he was so confused. How could they have exchanged all that into... this?

"I..." Devon started, but the words were stuck in his throat. How did he knew what to say? He was sure that whatever it was that he said, that it would be wrong. He needed to be pushed, and with this awkward silence laying over them, there was nothing pushing him in the right direction. He was simply... floating away. 

Devon couldn't express how much he wanted to tell her all he felt and thought, but even he couldn't make out any of it. Sadness, happiness and confusion. What was this feeling inside of him? He'd never experienced it so strong before...

**Sarreaha:**

After her soft greeting, Sarreaha's eyes had returned back to the floor. The floor was a safer object to look at. One knew where they stood with the floor. They stood on it; it was that simple. However, one did not know what was underneath the floor. So perhaps the floor was indeed like people. One could see the outside but not what was underneath. The outside could be both be misleading and correct. The answer all depended upon the situation.

However, perhaps Sarreaha didn't want to think of that aspect of the floor. It lost it's safety in that thought pattern, it became as bad as looking at Devon and in turn it felt as if she was looking at him. She could not read what was underneath the quiet and solemn exterior, just like she could not see underneath the dark, cold and hard stones beneath her feet. It was a depressing thought pattern when placed together.

_I..._ Her gaze moved from the floor to look back him. He was better looking than the floor ... but the floor wasn't toying with her feelings ... Since when had it become a competition between the floor and Devon? That thought confused Sarreaha, enough for the confusion to show on her face. It was probably not the best time to look confuse but it was something at least.

She tore her mind away from the small war in her head to realize he had started to say something but had stopped. Why? The confusion on her face had changed to be replaced with curiousity. Sarreaha could not say what drew her from the darkness in her mind, but the curiousity she felt was better than the fog she had been living. Maybe it was Devon, things had always seemed a little better when he was about. Even in the past he would meet her when she was down and somehow by the end she was back and smiling. Where was that smiling girl now? Why couldn't she surface from the darkness engulfing her being right now? Why? Why? WHY?

"Yes?" she softly prodded finally. Her voice was still soft and she surprised herself with the word coming from her mouth. How had it broken through the statue state she had found herself in? Was it the hope that had started to bubble at the beginning of this meeting or something unknown?

**Devon:**

He was pulling in his shirt, fiddling with his hands. Restless. _Restlessness_. What to do? Where to look? How to behave? And what was this feeling inside of him? Emptiness? How did one fill such a void? He didn't want contact with people... it hurt, but still, he wanted to reach out and touch Sarreaha. What had he done? Pushed her away? But he pushed everyone away, even his family, what was so special about Sarreaha? Why should she get special treatment?

_Because you care... that's why..._ Devon stared at the floor too. It seemed that both found the floor more safer to look at than each other. Why was that? There was so many questions inside Devon's mind. He wanted to push people away, didn't he? Pushing people away helped him staying sane. If he had contact with every person he'd ever met and interacted with, then what would become of him? Devon still didn't know what his dreams were. His dreams. The dreams he dreamt at night. Where was his dreams? The ones people dreamt at night, dreaming of their perfect place, love and happiness. All Devon ever saw once he closed his eyes was murder, blood, death and a dark hooded woman.

_Yes? _

She was curious, or at least, she was inviting. Devon took a short breath, as if he'd forgotten how to breathe. His eyes were blurry and unfocused before he looked up to look at Sarreaha. His knees felt weak, threatening to give in any second now. His head was dizzy and his mind was clouded. What could he say?

"I..." Devon tried to steady his voice, but he couldn't find it. His eyes darted back and forth between escape and salvation. "Do you..." Devon closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He let out a small frustrated sigh. Why was it so difficult to just speak, say the right words? Make it up...

"Do you hate me?" Devon finally asked, his breath short yet deep. His eyes had darted down towards the ground again. He couldn't bare to face her, to look her in the eye. He was sure that spite in what he'd said, he'd probably just said the wrong thing. He only hoped, it wasn't something he was going to regret...

**Sarreaha:**

Sarreaha had not noticed that Devon had been sharing her affliction of staring at the floor until she had looked up and kept her gaze focused on him. It made her realize that he was having equal difficulties with what was going on between them at the moment. In a way it was reassuring. His insecurity allowed the small hope to blossom a little more and part of the dark cloud to disappear, the part that had appeared during their last meeting.

As her eyes had been studying him, he had been trying to gather the strength, the words to speak. She noted it somewhere in the back of her mind. However, in the present she didn't think about it but rather waited for him to string words together, to dig them up from the depth of his soul.

Waiting for him to speak, Sarreaha found her eyes soon traveling back to the floor, that evil dirty floor, as the fingers of her hands played with the seam of her hoodies' pocket. She found her ears listening to the sound around them as she waited to hear his voice so instead she noted the sounds of the corridor, its silence, it's own strange noise. Then it happened.

_Do you hate me?_

The question had left his mouth fully and her eyes shot back to rest on him in surprise. Did he truly think that? How could he think that? Her mind was a mess of surprise and shock at the question. Had she acted someway to make him think that? She had not been acting any difference, at least compared to the last month or so. Had her change really affect him that much? That he would think that? Had that been what had occurred during their last meeting?

Sarreaha closed her eyes to free her mind from the questions that had flooded it. Her thinking would not answer Devon. How she wished it would. It would be so much easier if people could just read her mind when she wanted them to. Instead of fumbling for the correct actions or words they could just search inside her mind and see the answer, the truth there. Life would be so much simpler that way. Of course life did not work that way, so one had to fumble and try to express what they wanted.

"No," she whispered. She was not aware she whispered the word, her mind was speaking so loud that the word had escaped in a mere whisper and even softer the words, "quite the opposite really …" Whether Devon heard them would be left to see, but with the silence of the corridor perhaps they would be hard to miss. But with the words, color had sprouted in her cheeks as she blushed and her eyes had sought the safety of the floor once more.

**Devon:**

It had been the longest silence Devon had ever experienced. At least, in his mind it was. Usually Devon was a huge fan of silence, but with a silence like this one, he wasn't exactly in a comfortable spot. All the time he waited, he couldn't help but to think that what he'd asked was a little drastic. Hate was an awfully strong word, and he'd noted somewhere in his mind that he didn't see Sarreaha the type of person to fully hate someone that easily. He weren't even sure if she could hate someone at all. Perhaps just a really deep type of indifference or dislike. 

_No. _

Devon almost jumped by her answer, it came out so sudden in the all forsaken hallway. The corridors were silent, yet, silence had its own sound.

_...quite the opposite really..._

His heart skipped a beat. As he kept looking down, he blinked feeling blood drain from his head. The opposite of hate? Well, that was lo... No it couldn't be. He must've heard wrong. Or perhaps he hadn't? It was all so confusing. It was like he refused to believe that anyone could care for him, yet the hope that someone would was suddenly lit. And in it all, Devon couldn't help but to feel so selfish, making it all seem to be about him. Who was the one with the huge troubles? Sure he had his lack of sleep that make him want to turn insane, but that didn't affect Sarreaha. It was something else. Don't think he hadn't noticed her small weight loss or her sad expression.

Devon looked up with a slightly confused expression. "What?" He let the words slip out so carelessly. They'd been in his mind, and without thinking, he'd let them out. Again without thinking, Devon shifted his position slightly, taking a small step foreword.

Oh, how he wished someone would just push him into recklessness so that he might take a few more steps and embrace the pretty girl standing in front of him... Oh how he wished...

**Sarreaha:**

Silence had followed her soft words. Why was there silence? Probably because she had shocked Devon ... at least she thought that may be the case. What if he hated _her_ now for stating such a thing? It was possible, right? What if he only valued her as a friend and nothing more? What she just said could have just put a damper on all of that! Why couldn't Devon and she have a normal relationship like other people? But no ... normal was not for them [although one much ask then, what really was normal anyway?.

Sarreaha did not like the silence that had followed her words. With each second, she doubted things more and more and the bubble of hope grew smaller and smaller, waiting to pop. She felt like she was on a teeter-totter, going up and down but never finding that equalibrium where everything was right. Instead, one moment she was up in the air where things were looking better and then she was back on the ground, sinking lower and lower. Could she not just find a solid footing? Was this going to be the definiation of her life from now on? Going up and down within a matter of minutes?

With these thoughts in her mind, Sarreaha could not bring herself to look up at Devon, to try and read his features. What did it really matter? Most times she wasn't sure what was going behind those eyes. They were misleading. She did not want to see something and then find out she was wrong. It was too painful to think about.

_What?_

The word tore at her. She didn't know what to make of it. There was nothing really for her to grasp onto to find its meaning. Was he merely stunned, surprise? Pleased? Angered? Disgusted? Yes, her mind was supplying the impossible but in moments such as these the impossible seemed the possible. How could it not be?

What could she say in response to it? She barely knew what passed her lips most of the time ... how could she had said what she had? How could it have slipped out? She was rueing the words that moment ... she knew not what to say. Her mind was turning back to the jumble mess it had been. She was not even certain that he had moved closer. She had missed it but his feet seemed closer; yes, she was still staring at the floor.

Sarreaha felt almost helpless ... she wanted to run rather than face these uncertainities. Instead she shrugged her shoulders in response. What else could she do? Words were failing her once more ... uncertainity had replaced the hope ... why couldn't she just make things right? Why had her world have to change and fall around her? Why did it have to feel that way? And why did there have to be so many whys?

She was unaware as tears sprang to her eyes, though they did not fall, instead she focused on her hands as she clasped them together outside her pocket. Her fingers fidgetted with each other as they revealed her nervousness.

**Devon:**

Perhaps she hadn't heard him, or perhaps he hadn't said what he'd said. As each moment passed by, Devon found himself thinking more and more of what he'd said. That single question, one single word, had seemed to put a damper on the situation. It had turned from slightly awkward, to unbearable. The easiest way would be to run away, but every time Devon found himself thinking that, he couldn't help but to think back to their other encounter. Sure, she'd left, but he hadn't followed. It was also because of him that she'd left in the first place.

Past and present... right now he didn't need his so called gift to see them clearly, they were pretty fresh in his memory already.

The waiting was torture and Devon couldn't tear his eyes away from Sarreaha as she was constantly looking down. He noted that and wondered if she was even half as insecure as himself. He wasn't blind, he could see that she was feeling down. What could he do to help, could he help at all? Did he dare?

Devon's heart fell a million times and million times again as he watched Sarreaha shrug her shoulders in reply. He felt his hands shake, so he quickly put them in the pockets of his trousers. His own gazed fell to the floor. What did that shrug mean? What had her words all in all meant? Devon was so confused. He didn't understand at all.

_...quite the opposite really..._

Her words rang over and over again in his mind as he stood there. Did he read too much in it... or too little? Devon shook his head inwardly, wanting his mind to wake up? What did he have to lose now? He should just take a chance!! They were barely on speaking terms, all they got was few words and something most people wouldn't even define as a conversation. What did he have to lose now that he'd lost it?

Devon looked up and took another, no, two more steps towards Sarreaha. His steps were small, but then again, the distance between them weren't that far to begin with. Taking out his hands from his pocket, Devon took a small breath. His head was pondering for what he was about to do, he needed to focus.

With a trembling hand, Devon slowly took one of Sarreaha's hands in his own, and with his other one, he took her other hand. With all his might, he blocked away everything Sarreaha had, her skin was enough to make him see things he didn't want to. Devon didn't want to see Sarreaha's past, present and future by his curse, he wanted her to be able to tell him if she wanted to. Therefore, he used all his might to block her out, resulting a throbbing pain in his head. But he ignored it as much as he could, he weren't sure if it showed in his eyes the pain he felt, but at least he managed to keep his voice as usual as he spoke:

"Sarreaha, please look at me..." His pleading voice was slightly pained, but most of all, he hoped the pain in his heart would stop.

**Sarreaha:**

Sarreaha was sure that her shrug had been inadequent to answer his question, but she didn't know what else to do. Her mouth certainly wasn't working and even if it had been her brain refused to give her anything. How could she had replied to it, feeling as she had? Confused as to his his question had been favorable or not? Whatever she would say in response could make things either worse or better. It was a sombering thought. There were so many paths to choose and each led to a different conclusion, sure the conclusion may be in essence the same but the paths taken, the routes they were force to take would be different, whether only a little or drastically different.

As she stared at the floor, she noticed as it blurred from the water lingering over the top of her bottom eyelids. Despite the blurr she noticed the two small steps that Devon had taken torwards her. For the briefest of moments her mind had turned off in the time she noticed his first hand move taking one of her own before the other followed the same path. His touch felt like fire coursing into her fingers and up her arms. How could someone's touch cause such a sensation?

There was a small pause between his taking her hands and his voice,  
_Sarreaha, please look at me..._ Sarreaha blinked, the tears being pushed from their perch to slide down her cheeks, leaving a watery trail. Her mind turned on again with his words, but instead of questioning and plaguing her mind, her mind only pointed the tone under his voice.

The pleading, the slight pain that were there to read. And yet, Sarreaha feared to do what he asked. She was scared to find out what she would see, to visibly show that she had shed tears ... and yet she lifted her head, her eyes trailing slowly behind to look at his face. The girl was not sure what she saw there. Her mind took in pain and yet she didn't know what it from ... Devon had never shared his secret of his visions with her ... how could she know that merely touching her hands caused a sea of visions to pop into his mind for him to suppress and ignore. One had to love Devon for that. He had the power to see exactly what was wrong with her and yet he chose not to ... to allow her to share it of her own accord. How many people with such a gift would do that?

Yet, now looking at him, Sarreaha was still lost for words. Did he expect her to say something? Were there even words lingering in her mind wanting to be spoken. Yes. But right now was hardly the time to go pouring out every little secret she held at the moment. So she remained silent.

She didn't know what else to do.

**Devon:**

As she lifted her head and looked at him, Devon felt pained inside as he saw her tears. Had he really done that to her? He wanted to look away, but yet, he didn't. He just felt like he had to stay strong and not break it. Somehow, a new part of him had taken control, for who would've thought the old Devon would've taken a hold of Sarreaha's hand?

Devon stared at Sarreaha's captivating hazel eyes, feeling a ruble of his feelings rush to his head. He wanted to run away in pain, feeling his head pound more and more, it felt like it would explode. Yes, his heart was also pounding, and for a second Devon weren't sure what hurt most. Standing so close to Sarreaha, Devon wondered slightly if she could hear his heartbeat, because inside of him it was like a hundred bass drums playing a united beat. 

Slowly, Devon found himself being unfrozen without even realizing he'd been frozen. It had all taken just a second though, and as soon as Devon had seen Sarreaha's tears, he knew just how vulnerable she was.

With a soft hand movement, Devon dried away one of her tear trail with his thumb. The touch caused it to burn in his flesh, just like his other hand. He wasn't sure of this was because of his feelings inside... or because he was cursed. Either way, it still hurt. Yet, the pain he felt in his hands wasn't half the pain he would feel if he let go.

Devon let out a small tired sigh, he was tired of it all. The secrets of his life, the pain, the dreams... most of all, he was tired of pushing Sarreaha away.

The hand he'd used to dry away her watery trail slided down her arm, finding her hand again. The entire time, Devon hadn't taken his eyes off from her, he wouldn't, he couldn't. He was under her spell... There was so much Devon wanted to say, and he was now more determined than ever to say it, but he just didn't know where to start. But then, some of his words floated up...

"I'm so sorry Sarreaha. I'm sorry if I ever pushed you away," Devon said, still with his olive eyes gazing heavily upon her. "I'm sorry, that I wasn't there when you needed me... **if** you needed me," Devon corrected himself. "It's just... so painful to see you so hurt," Devon said, letting go of anther small unsteady sigh. He wasn't sure what kind of reaction he was expecting, was he expecting one at all?

**Sarreaha:**

She wanted to drop her gaze from his; she wanted to return it the safety of the floor and yet she couldn't. Somehow there was such intensity in his eyes that Sarreaha found herself unable to break the contact. It felt as if the only way the contact could be broken was if Devon himself would look away and yet he didn't. The Slytherin steadfastly held her gaze.

She felt frozen. She felt like the deer standing in the middle of a Muggle road, just poised there staring into a set of a muggle car's headlights fast approaching. Entranced by the white lights, unable to move whether from fear or from curiosity. And yet these headlights were a pair of olive eyes.

Even when one of Devon's hands let go of hers, her eyes had stayed put. Even when with a touch like a feather he brushed away one of the trails left by her tears, she had kept eye contact with him. Even her mind felt frozen, unable to think one coherent thought for the moment. She felt his hand trailed down her arm before taking up her hand once more.

Then Devon sighed and her mind came back to life. Somehow she both felt and seen his tiredness in his sigh. Sarreaha was still at a loss of what to do. Somehow, despite everything, she was still lost ... confused as to what was going between them at the moment. She knew something was happening and yet her mind could draw no conclusion. But time continued on and there was little of it for Sarreaha to think through it all before Devon had suddenly started speaking.

_I'm so sorry Sarreaha. I'm sorry if I ever pushed you away. I'm sorry, that I wasn't there when you needed me... __**if**__ you needed me. It's just... so painful to see you so hurt._

For the silence of their interaction with each, it had been a speech and she was not untouched by it. It seemed as if his words had broken the hold that had been placed on her. She closed her eyes for a few moments as her heart beated faster. The Hufflepuff was trying to gather her thoughts, trying to bring some words up and yet nothing was coming. It was there, she knew it was but it wasn't coming. It was refusing to come.

In her mind it felt as if time was dragging, but only a few seconds had passed before the end of his comment and her response. Even still she was trapped, still unable to speak. Instead of speaking, Sarreaha had moved forward and leaned her head against his chest/shoulder, her hands sliding from his hold to rest against his chest between their two forms.

Despite the lock on her lips, two words slid and their tone were soft and slightly muffled. "I'm sorry." Where the words had come from, Sarreaha didn't know but she felt they were true. She was bringing the world down around Devon, pulling him into her own melancholy. She knew he had his own to deal with and now he was seeing hers ... expressing the want, in so little words, to share it with her or rather help her through it ... the pain that _he_ hadn't been there for her.

**Devon:**

This time, it was Devon's turn to have his mind frozen solid. The reaction he got from Sarreaha was not a reaction he'd planned, but then again, he hadn't really planned or expected anything, he wasn't even sure whether or not he'd get a proper reaction at all. He'd more or less prepared himself fro rejection.

When she let go of his hands, Devon had for that split second thought she was going to leave him, but then, the most unthinkable thing happened. Or perhaps it had been a dream. A dream? Devon weren't sure if this was something he'd seen from being near Sarreaha or if this... if this was actually one of his own dreams. He'd forgotten what it was like to have a dream of his own cause all he ever saw was the dreams of other. But perhaps... perhaps he'd dare to say that this might be a genuine dream of his own.

After her hands had left his, his mind had been frozen. He knew not what to say now, or what to do, yet his arms seemed to act on their own as he snaked them around her small body and rested on her back, holding her. Devon allowed himself to close his eyes for the tiniest of seconds, just to try and steady himself. 

_I'm sorry._ Devon opened his eyes. She was sorry, she had nothing to be sorry about, yet, he couldn't find his manners of speech to tell her that. Instead, he tried to reason with himself that perhaps she wanted to be sorry. Perhaps this was one of those moment where he was not supposed to argue against it.

Holding everything out was starting to get heavier and a small shiver went through Devon's body. His heart was pondering hard and fast, and with Sarreaha's head against his chest/shoulder, he knew she had to heart it. Somehow, this worried him a little, she was the one with the troubles now, he didn't want to burden her with his troubles. Perhaps he could confide with her later. Yes, Devon definitely thought he could trust her now.

Closing his eyes again he didn't realize what a hold his powers had over him. In reality, they had been changing him. Not only by pushing away the one person he truly cared for, but his eyes, they were tired, and a small yellow ring had been formed around the green of his eyes. Of course, he didn't realize it as it only happened when he was exposed to such an intense force like this: blocking out everything.

For a second or two, Devon felt normal, just a little bit. Here he was, standing with the only person who'd ever truly noticed him, the girl he truly did care for, and the pain in his head had been gone. Spite the small second before the pain hit him with full force again, Devon was happy. He'd felt what it was like to be normal... or at least close to normal.

Realizing he still hadn't said something, Devon realized his manners of speech was back. "Then I guess we're both sorry," Devon said softly, allowing a small real smile to play on the corners of his mouth. It was the first real smile he'd smiled in months.

**Sarreaha:**

Sarreaha had been unsure of what she had been doing when she had moved forward. She was still harboring a piece of rejection in her mind; she had feared that he may have pushed her away instead of accepting. Sarreaha feared that he would walk away. Silly as it, she feared it. She could not help feeling that way, first with her family and then the last time they had met. It was a feeling that didn't want to be ereased.

How was it that the things that damage one were always the things to linger in their mind? One cannot forget the pain that had been inflicted in those moments. Instead they dwelled on them; they fear it will happen again. Why were the darker emotions and feelings the ones that stuck with a person, unable to forget, while the lighter ones seemed to wash away with the moment. True a person could remember them but they did not stick like the darker ones, they did not usually haunt.

Relief had flooded her being when he had not pushed her away and security followed after when she felt his arms move around her, holding her in his embrace. For a moment her breathing had ceased but it soon picked up again when she closed her eyes as she just dwelled in the feeling of his embrace.

Underneath her head, Sarreaha could not hear Devon's heart beat. It was her forehead she rested against his shoulder not her ear. If she heard anyone's heart beat it was her own hammering away at her ears. Sarreaha could not say she hated the silence that had followed her actions, on the contrary she loved it. Her mind had been in such turmoil and now it was settling down. She was content to stand there against him without words. It was surreal. Sure she had leaned against him before ... the greenhouses came to her mind, but he had never embraced her back from her knowledge. It was a novel feeling.

For that moment, her troubles had seemed fleeting, forgotten in her mind. Even when Devon spoke the moment hadn't felt to have changed. _Then I guess we're both sorry._ Sarreaha could not help the small choke-laugh that had rose in her throat. She didn't know why she found the statement funny, but she had. A small smile had come with her small laugh and yet Devon could not see it; Sarreaha wasn't even aware she had done it.

Had they just made peace with each other? And if so, what were they now? Still friends? Something more? Dare one even say a couple? Her mind was aware they were back to the footing they had been at but she didn't think it was the same footing. How could it be the same when she had told him that she liked him more that a friend? Did he feel the same way? Sarreaha could not be sure. He had been surprised by her statement, but he had not said anything similar. It made her wary to do anything.

Instead of thinking about them, her mind turned back over the past few months, years of her life and she couldn't help but thinking: was she silly? Was she silly to take things so personally to feel the outcast in such a new situation, one she wasn't familar with? And that question escaped her lips to break another moment of silence. Just like Devon, her ability of speech had returned.

"Am I silly?" Her voice had not raised above the tone she had been speaking. She knew that Devon could not possibly know what she meant when she asked. She had not told him anything new with her. Either way, she wanted to be told that she wasn't. That she was right to feel as if she was losing something. It was horrible to think that she was tearing herself up over something that wasn't even worth it. That she was hurting herself for nothing.

**Devon:**

Devon closed his eyes again, letting the moment take over. The burning sensation in his skin kept increasing, even though her forehead was not directly on his chest right now, it was as if it had been. What difference did his shirt make right now? The burning sensation of every touch they had still lingered on him. He would be surprised if it had begun to smell like burnt flesh.

And spite all this, Devon refused to let go. He'd never felt so great... and bad before. Mixed feelings was something he was used with tough, so, for now, Devon didn't mind. But still, Devon was sure Sarreaha could hear... or at least feel his heart beating under his shirt. Somehow, that worried his a little. His heart beat a lot faster when she was around, and besides, something told Devon that his heart didn't always have a steady beat. But still... all those were small minor things in the big picture. 

He smiled slightly when she laughed, he'd missed her laughs, and he smiles. He didn't want to pull away to see if she smiled, but something told him that she did... perhaps. Devon felt his hands tremble slightly, and it came to his attention that he was not going to last for much longer. He felt terribly tired.

_Am I silly?_

The question came as a surprise on him, and Devon found himself not quite knowing what to answer. What did he want to answer, and what did she expect him to answer? those were two completely different answers. Fear that she might reject him or get hurt if he said something wrong still haunted his mind.

Finally, he settled his unsteady mind into a reply. "We are all a little silly once in a while, and we have every right to. After all, we're only human," Devon said quietly, his tone as steady as always, even though what eh felt was close to a breakdown.

**Sarreaha:**

Even stuck in her own troubles, Sarreaha had felt the tremble in Devon's hands against her back. She had blinked slightly at it, wondering on it. Besides that short tremble, Sarreaha had not noticed anything else in his manner that might hint something was wrong. However, Sarreaha was never ignore the small things.

Her mind turned from it as he answered her question. _We are all a little silly once in a while, and we have every right to. After all, we're only human._ His answer gave her pause. She didn't want to believe it but it made sense although it was not particular the thing she wanted to hear. She wanted to know if she was silly at that moment not people in general.

However, she had to concede that considering he didn't know anything about her at that moment in her mind, it was a decent answer. She sighed gently before she leaned away from his shoulder and kissed him lightly on the lip, "Thank you, Devon," she stated after with a weak smile. She was still depressed but some things were looking a little better.

And yet, she was not unaffected by what she had just done. Yes, she had kissed him before but it had been on the cheek and not the lips. She felt her heart beat raising again, it's pounding loud in her ears, and even a color came to her cheeks in her slight embarassment in what she had just done. And yet, her eyes stayed focused on Devon's face, to watch his reaction. She forced herself to keep her eyes on his. She needed to know; she feared to know, but the need was stronger than her fear. 

Her emotions had been such a confused mess with everything going on in her family that she needed to know how Devon reacted, how he felt towards her. She needed that knowledge. Sure, at that moment she may have been selfish in her need to know but her only excuse could be her feeling of unwantedness and her ignornance of the fact on how her presence, her contact with Devon affected him so.

**Devon:**

As he stood there with her, he wasn't quite sure what he'd expected her reply to be, perhaps he hadn't expected one at all. And that was why when she slightly pulled away and kissed him that he felt his mind exploding.

_Thank you, Devon._

It was like a switch had been turned on inside his mind, and it just exploded. His green eyes, now with a clear yellow ring around them, looked at hers as she broke away. He couldn't speak, he couldn't move, he couldn't do anything. His flesh felt like it was being held under a hot fire, and his lips felt like a hundred fireworks erupting from them. His heart was beating so loudly in his chest that it practically hurt.

The explosion in his mind wasn't just an expression of words, because everything he held inside was turned up-side-down. A thousand images flashed over his eyes and a hundred thousand emotions sprang to life inside of him.

Devon let go of Sarreaha. He couldn't stand the hold any longer, it was like he just gave up. He knew his hands were slightly trembling, cause he felt it in his body. How could one simple thing, one simple gesture like that, feel so incredibly good and bad at the same time? Because it had felt good, for a fraction of a second. He knew they'd kissed before, or... she'd kissed him before. But never on the lips. This was different.

With a trembling, yet steady hand, Devon took a hold of Sarreaha's upper arm and with his last strengths he bowed his head slowly down and kissed her lightly on the lips in return. The burning sensation doubled up even more, and he let got of her; he was even sure that this time, his burning lips had been contagious. He remembered how some people seemed to get a slightly electric shock if they came near him. Perhaps Sarreaha hadn't been affected like that because he'd held it all inside, but right now, he'd let go of everything. "I'm sorry Sarreaha," Devon whispered, hardly even ware of his own words.

Devon took one small step behind him, so that he could get some distance, some air... not that it would help very much. The cool and calm expression Devon had held was gone, it was clear he was breaking down or in some sort of pain. Yet he tried not to, he couldn't put Sarreaha through that right now, she didn't deserve this burden.

**Sarreaha:**

Her eyes had been staring at his and she noticed the difference. The yellow ring. Had it always been there? Sarreaha's mind was telling her no however, her mind was not thinking about it much longer when he had suddenly released her. She had noted the tremble in his form, the varying emotions and expressions that had flittered over his face. If anything scared her it was that.

Her mind was a mess of thoughts. Why had he stepped aside? Had she been wrong to kiss him? Was he alright? And many more plagued her mind and yet when he gripped her arm they flew from her mind when his lips met hers in a light kiss. When he broke away he spoke, _I'm sorry Sarreaha._

Once more she was confused. She saw the vary emotions and expressions and his step backwards. It scared her. How could it not. Devon was always cool and calm. He rarely showed any emotions. Something was wrong. Had she been so stuck in her own world that she never noticed that something was wrong with Devon. She had known he liked to be alone but was there something more to it? A reason for his isolation from the world?

"Devon," she started softly. "Devon, what's wrong?" The fear had crept into her voice. She feared that he was pushing her away from him, that things weren't alright, despite the fact he had kissed _her_ in return. She feared that something was wrong with Devon ... frankly, she just feared losing him.

Sarreaha didn't know what to do. Should she push him to go to the Hospital Wing? Should she just let it chart its own course? Would Devon even allow her to take him to the Hospital Wing? If Devon's problems did anything for her it was that it made her forget her meloncholy in her concern for him. Perhaps it wasn't the best thing, since Sarreaha always felt more concern for other people rather than herself.

**Devon:**

More than anything in the world he wanted to be able to push away his thoughts and feelings and this intense burn that was burning in his flesh. Was this how the rest of his life would be like? That he wouldn't be able to touch anybody without a pain rising in his body? Wasn't he able to be stronger than that? He should be!

_Devon. Devon, what's wrong?_

How could he be so selfish? He heard the fear in her voice and he just couldn't help wonder, why was he so selfish? This wasn't about him, this was about Sarreaha, he wanted it all to be about Sarreaha, as weird as it sounded. But she was the one with pain, not him, he wasn't suffering any more than usual, he had it coming. being so stupid keeping it all inside; karma came back and cursed you for that.

Why was it that every time Devon wanted to know anything at all about Sarreaha that his stupid pain came along... why didn't he suppress it? Why couldn't he overlook it when Sarreaha was there? Was it because of something deeper inside him. What made people tremble and fly... this one feeling, this one emotion that happened to most people.

Devon looked away from Sarreaha, not aware of it himself. He needed to breath, to try and collect himself again. Stay cool... Perhaps the reason for why he trembled so around Sarreaha was because there weren't just everyone else emotions that stirred inside him, not everyone else's memories he saw: he saw and felt his own feelings and memories too. His dreams. He had dreams around Sarreaha. Dreams that were his own. He realized that now and it felt like a wave of cold water was released over his head.

"Sarreaha, I love you," Devon whispered, his eyes had placed themselves on the ground. Feelings erupted inside of him as the statement left his lips. He was dizzy and he knew he wasn't standing completely still. Even so, he knew he wasn't going to fall.

"I don't know how else to put it," Devon continued, even though his body was shaking, his voice was steady. "There's nothing wrong with me... Sarreaha, it's you that I'm worried about," Devon said, still keeping his distance. "I've only got a headache," Devon added softly.

He couldn't bring himself to trouble Sarreaha with his secret just yet. He just couldn't... no matter the cost. If he fainted of pain or exhaustion, he just couldn't worry her like that. He needed to be strong, he had to. Perhaps his love for her would help him through this...

**Sarreaha:**

The turmoil had returned in her mind. However, instead of focusing on her own problems her mind was focused on Devon's. How could it not be? This was the here and now. She was not feeling ill, mentally depressed, yes, but nothing physically wrong with her and she certainly wasn't dying. And yet Devon... how could she believe that nothing was wrong with him?

It seemed that the boy could barely stand. It was obvious to Sarreaha that he was in pain. All in all, he was not acting normal. He was acting as if something was wrong despite how he tried to push things away, to make it seem as it were nothing. Her mind could not help but focus on him, worry about him. She cared to much not to. Her teeth kneaded her bottom lip as she tried to figure something out. And yet nothing came and nothing certainly came after Devon had spoken.

_Sarreaha, I love you._

She felt as if a truck had hit her. The breath knocked from her chest. How could three little words have such an affect on someone? She could not even say. Sarreaha was not just mentally affected by those little words ... _I love you_ ... but physically. Her breath became short and she found herself backing up so that the wall had become her support. She probably would have sunk to her knees if the wall had not been there.

_I love you._ Three simple words and yet so much was packed into them. For each person they meant a different thing. Everyone needed to find the meaning of those words for themselves. Those three words were just fill with so much that it was difficult to feel nothing upon their utterance. How someone could be unaffected when they are spoken by someone they care about dearly, was beyond Sarreaha. And yet, Sarreaha could not echo them back, for at this moment in time they would indeed be an echo. Her mind told her to say them back but she couldn't. She could not know that if she spoke them now if they would hold the correct meaning and weight. She was not sure she was ready to say those words. So much had been happening to her lately. The meaning they held is very dear, one should say them when they are sure they truly meant them, when their meaning can take their full form and take flight. Sarreaha was not sure she could handle their utterance yet.

So much had been happening in her life these past two years. Her father's love life, his remarriage, her mother and siblings, her lack of connection with her family, life, Devon. It was all becoming a swirl in her mind. She was no longer sure where real life had ended and where fantasy had started. Surely this was all a fantasy world. Hogwarts, the people around her, Devon ... surely it was only just a story that she had written down in her journal.

And yet it was not. This was her story, her life story that she was living. She could not stop and think and go back and edit the parts that made no sense or turned out wrong. She could not revise her life like that. It was a striking thought. This life was the only one a person had. They could only go one way. But is that way the right way?

Sarreaha no longer knew. It felt as if fantasy had intervened. That any moment she would wake up to a cold world, the world she had known when she was but a first year. And yet the cold reality did not seep in. Time continued forward and Devon continued to speak.

_I don't know how else to put it. There's nothing wrong with me... Sarreaha, it's you that I'm worried about. I've only got a headache._ Her eyes focused on him. They softened. She saw what he was doing. She appreciated it and yet she disliked him for it. She did not want him to push his own troubles away because she had her own to deal with. She was not so fragile to think only of herself. Yes, human beings were a selfish lot that preferred to think only of themselves, but they were able to be compassionate. To place themselves last in respect to others. This was what Devon was doing. And yet, in the here and now ... his problems seemed the more pressing ... the fact that he was not able to continue on normally, that he was so affected by whatever it was, both physically and mentally.

And yet, Sarreaha didn't know what to do. She didn't know what to say. And of their own accord, tears sprang to her eyes, but refused to fall as his name passed her lips in a small whisper, "Devon." And yet everything she felt seemed to flow out in that one word, that name. It was weighted with everything in her. There was so much put into its two syllables that reading into it seemed almost impossible. She wanted to move forward, to touched him and yet her body refused, perhaps still from the shocked she had received by those three words but perhaps because she realized if she did it would become worse for Devon.

Sarreaha could not say how she knew that touching him would be the worst action at that moment. Perhaps it was from the fact he had slowly been moving away from her, first releasing her from his embrace, then a step back, and later another one ... and even the turning his head from her. But then, maybe it was intuitive. There were so many possibilities and yet no answer was forth coming. Her story was unfolding, hers and Devon's both, their timelines twisting together to seal this moment. Neither knew where it would lead them. Neither could predict what would happen. They only knew that in this moment, that right now, there was only one chance to do anything before it was lost in time. A moment lost forever. After all, time waited for no one.

**Devon:**

Now that he thought back on it, Devon wasn't completely sure if confessing his love for Sarreaha had been the best thing to do now, although, he'd felt the need to do so. He had to get it out of his system, because he knew now more than ever that he truly meant it. But then, when he loved her so, he didn't want to be a burden for her, and in his mind he guess telling her about his problems would be a burden he did not want to place upon her. And yet again, where to begin? If he were to tell her, where would be start? Where would he begin to tell? What would he say?

Time was slowly going by. In spite of himself, Devon still couldn't help but to feel that he was acting selfish. No matter what he did, whether it was telling her or not, it all turned out wrong and selfish. It hit him now that not telling her would be a bad thing too, because he knew she didn't believe him for what he'd said. By not telling her, she might think he didn't want her in his life, which was completely misunderstood. No, he wanted her in his life, it was just so hard.

And then again, if he told her, she might be burdened and weakened by it. Perhaps she'd think it was ridiculous that he'd held it all inside, but what was there to do. 

No, wait, Devon couldn't allow himself to think so low of Sarreaha... he didn't think to low of her. Agh! Again, no matter what he said, thought or did, it just all came out wrong!

_Devon. _

It was only a word, it was only a name, but it awaken something inside of him, something inhuman. His eyes had turned completely yellow-ish green now, but as he kept his eyes down now, Sarreaha wouldn't see until he looked up. Devon of course, was completely unaware of his own physical changes.

"Sarreaha," Devon said softly, still not looking up. But now, his usual steady voice had a small crack in it. He was just so exhausted.

"I want to tell you so bad, but I don't know where to start... where to begin. I'm not..." Devon sighed looking up. "I'm not strong enough," he said, uneasy. He backed up until he felt his fingers touch the walls. It was like an electric shock went through him and he closed his eyes in pain.

"I don't know what to say," he murmured under his breath, waiting for time to take a hold of him and shake him awake. Or perhaps the devil would appear and tell him it was his time to go, either away, this was the closest thing to death Devon had ever felt.

**Sarreaha:**

Sarreaha was unsure what to do or say. Everything seemed to be currently a mess. Things had seemed to gotten better and now they were at a stand still, in a certain way. It was strange how confessing feelings, making up seemed to make everything worse. True, they were at a better understanding now but right now things seemed worse. Devon was in pain; Sarreaha didn't know why; she was still depressed; Devon still had his own problems. And that was only touching the surface. Who knew what remained underneath still!

Her mind tore from her confusion when Devon spoke. _Sarreaha._ Her lips parted for a moment as she looked at the boy, is head still bowed away from her. However, she remained silent. What else could she do? Sarreaha was not one to demand something from Devon. She could only wait until he spoke again.

_I want to tell you so bad, but I don't know where to start... where to begin. I'm not... I'm not strong enough. _She watched as he took a few steps back, hitting the wall. At the moment, they were both pressed against the wall. Her mind worked on processing the words he had spoken. _I don't know what to say._

What could she say? The beginning was always the best place to start, wasn't it? And yet, he had started that he didn't know where to begin… did that mean that the beginning was perhaps hazy? Sarreaha could not possibly say. She could not see into Devon's mind, nor his past, so frankly, what did she know of these things? Nothing. Devon had never been forth coming with information, perhaps again this was why he was finally opening up to her. But why now?

"You don't have to be strong," she said quietly. "The beginning is always a good place to start," she then stated in the same soft tones. She had decided to go with her original thought pattern. Sarreaha really didn't know what else to say. She supposed she could say that he doesn't have to tell her now, which was true, as she stated as much in soft tones. He had made the first step in telling her, which had been saying he wanted to share this information, something that was apparently so much apart of him, with her.

However, one couldn't help but wonder that if they did wait until Devon was feeling better then would he still feel the need to share the information with her? Did she have so little faith in Devon? No. She did not. But her mind could not help but jump to the worst of all conclusions at most times. It was one of the reasons why normally Sarreaha tried to stay on the optimistic side.

Feeling as if she said anything now it would just be a variant of what she just stated. She bit her bottom lip as she waited until Devon said or did something.

**Devon:**

At her soft words, Devon couldn't help but to let out a small laugh with a ironical smile on his features, although it was hardly noticeable as he was still looking down. So she did not compleatly understand him, did she? No, how could she? He had never shared any kind of vital information with her, about his life and thoughts. So he did not blame her for understanding, he was blaming himself for being who he was.

Why couldn't he be a little bit more strong, a little bit more like everyone else? Why couldn't he just give out trust like everyone else, no, it wasn't the way he was. He was quiet and mysterious, a loner. He could always remain as this. It was a miracle that Sarreaha would even bother to stay around with him, he was sure he would only cloud her him even more, and drain her from whatever spirit she had.

"That's just it," Devon said in reply to her words. "I don't know where the beginning is,"

There was something oddly wrong with the way he said it, as if he was defeated or... as if he was closing again. He had his moment, and it seemed that his moment was finally coming to a halt. He couldn't bear opening up anymore, or he'd break. He was already shaken up, how could he press himself any further?

Devon opened his eyes, one thing was sure though, he would tell her eventually. He looked up at her and gave her a soft, pained smile. 

"I'm sorry if I don't make any sense," he said apologetic. "I can't tell you tonight. I'm so... tired," he confessed. He was, exhausted. "But I do promise to tell you another time. It's not something I say just to say, but I mean it," he said looking at her, hoping she believed him or would take his word for it.

Devon looked down again. He closed his eyes, feeling his blood pump through his veins. He could hear his heart beat and his mind burning. Why did his mind were him off physically? It didn't make any sense... but what did make sense these days?

**Sarreaha:**

Waiting. It was something that people spend a large majority of their time doing. Waiting. Waiting for something to happen, an answer to a question. Life or death. Always waiting. When were they never waiting? True, once one receive their answer they stopped waiting, but that was only one. People are always waiting for many things at once, whether they realize it at once. When did one become aware of the fact they were waiting? When it was in the fore front of their mind? When they finally received their answer? When everything appeared hopeless. When life didn't seem worth living any more?

What was the point of waiting?

_"That's just it," Devon said in reply to her words. "I don't know where the beginning is."_

The wait was still there. Even after he had spoken. They were still waiting. Sarreaha felt she had little to say. Her mind was clouding again. Things were still in their lows. Yes, one part of her life was looking up, and yet that was still only one part. She was still waiting on the other areas. Looking for an answer, for something to do. Would she find it? Could she change it? What was the point? To make one feel better until the next large problem tumbled onto one's shoulder.

It truly was a never ending game of waiting. Everything is always waiting for something.

Sarreaha turned her gaze to Devon to catch the pained smile that had crossed his lips. She felt concern for the boy, but she felt she could do little to help him. Was there a reason she even tried? Everything she tried to do lately just seemed to make things worse, rather than help.

_"I'm sorry if I don't make any sense," he said apologetic. "I can't tell you tonight. I'm so... tired," he confessed. He was, exhausted. "But I do promise to tell you another time. It's not something I say just to say, but I mean it," he said looking at her, hoping she believed him or would take his word for it. _

Her mind shot up at his words. He stated he wasn't just stating it to put an end to it. How did she know that? The girl could not see the future and now it was another thing to wait for. However, Sarreaha accepted it. What else could she do? She didn't have the strength to fight it, nor did it appear that Devon had the strength to give. They were at a stand still. Another game of wait and see. Another time would need to come. This moment had come and gone. It was gone.

It was as simple as that. It was no longer possible to share anything; the moment had passed. Would the next moment pass as well? Would they catch the next one or the one after? Would these moments continue to pass them by. Sarreaha hoped not. Not for her own sake, but for Devon. He needed something. She could sense that. However, she could not say what or even if she could give it.

"Oh, okay," she stated softly. The words were weak. She didn't know what else to do or say. So much had just passed between them and yet so much had not changed. It was all still their. The questions, the waiting, the uncertainity. What had they accomplished in this meeting?

**Devon:**

Devon closed his eyes, as if he had been defeated, and he had, he felt so incredible vulnerable and weak. Pathetic. The cold and seemingly untouched demeanor that Devon seemed to wear, was tired down, and his mind was one big blur. Was this fair of him, to just let her wait. Of course not, once again he was reminded how cruel every intention he did was. But he had no strength left.

Her reply was weak and seemingly defeated as well. It made him wonder whether or not she believed him. What had changed now, cause something had. There was so much unsaid. People walked a lifetime not saying what needed to be said to each other, because of there was something Devon had learnt from all his disturbing images, was that life was too short. And he was somehow sure, that his life would not be as long as most either... He needed to seize the day...

...Just not today. It was too much to do. 

"I'll... I'll see you around," Devon replied weakly, feeling his words fail to deliver the hidden message underneath them. His words seemed fragile, perhaps even cold and rather powerless, meaningless, as if they were yet another stack of unimportant words that were too small to matter.

He was too small to matter.

Turning away from Sarreaha, Devon begun to walk away, feeling that with each step, he made his world just a little bit more difficult, and his life just a little bit shorter.

**Sarreaha:**

Not really know what else to do, Sarreaha just watched as he walked away. She had made no reply to his words. Whatever she would say didn't really seem to matte at that point. This meeting was over, it was closed. Was it really just a business matter? Or was that just what it felt like? Yes, they had accomplished something, but what exactly was it? Where were they? Where were they before all this? Sarreaha had asked Devon once. She had received no answer then.

Was life just one large circle? A circle that they kept going around and around and around and never getting anywhere despite the progress they appeared to have made? Something had happened in this meeting but Sarreaha felt no nearer to Devon than she had before everything that had happened.

She was still lost.

She knew that that. Her life was just a large mess; could she ever untangle it? Just looking at it she knew that some parts would be easier to untangle than others. Looking at the back of the boy, Sarreaha felt that his part would be the most difficult to untangle of all.

Not really aware of what she was doing, Sarreaha turned and headed towards her common room.


End file.
